


Dragon Lands

by TheStrange_One



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alpha Bakugou Katsuki, Alpha Todoroki Shouto, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Clan, Doctor - Freeform, Drama, Explicit Consent, Fighters, Healer, Implied Sexual Content, Mpreg, Omega Kagome, Omega Midoriya Izuku, Omega Verse, Original Character(s), Violence, alpha inuyasha, because I said so, character personality changes, dragon - Freeform, dragon-people, evil Naraku (no surprise), halfbreeds (of course), happy fluff, kingdom - Freeform, two unrelated at the same time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-06 14:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 54,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17346992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStrange_One/pseuds/TheStrange_One
Summary: In a world where the dragons live in peace with the kingdoms closest to their border and two dragons are engaged to the omega second prince of the Midoriya Kingdom, it appears that all is well. However, the closest advisor to the throne is replaced with the stranger, Naraku, and things go downhill from there.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't exactly a fanfic of Hero Academia, it's more of a fanfic of two other fanfics. (Yes, I can do that.) So the two in question are *Glacier* by gutsdumpster, and "Ruination" by Anonymous. (Both stories are much darker than this one--fair warning.) I added Inu-Yasha elements because Naraku is (in my opinion) one of the best villains in anime ever, and it didn't seem fair not to have his two best antags with him. :) So read, enjoy, no idea how long (or short) it will be and if you like the darker stuff, well, look up the other two works. I've also changed a few character personalities around, so if you hate reading about an Enji Todoroki that really does have his family's best interest at heart, well, there are plenty of other fanfics to read. Also, Itsuki is an original character just because I wanted Izuku to have an older brother. 
> 
> Because I said so, that's why.

Izuku ran through the forest, one eye closed against the stinging pine needles that felt like they were trying to dig out his eyes. Each step pounded more breath out of him, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't _afford_ to stop. He couldn't...keep going. He gasped and leaned against a tree, moving to the other side when he heard pursuit.

“Your Highness,” called a voice. The voice itself did nothing to show how evil and crazed the one who owned it was. It sounded mellow, soothing. The voice of someone who could be trusted.

Izuku gripped the rough bark of the tree he was behind and tried to regulate his breathing. That man couldn't be trusted—if he was even a man. There was no way that—that  _thing_ was human—and his mother trusted it!

“Found you.”

Izuku screamed as tentacles shot from the ground, lacerating his body before trying to dissolve patches of it. With a burst of effort he wrenched himself out of the grip of the tentacles and forwards.  _It’s got to be here_ , he thought desperately.  _The border has to be here_ . Beneath that small prayer was another one—that his letter had made it through. His letter was his call for help, his lifeline—because no one else realized what was going on. 

The ground in front of him fell away—and he almost fell with as he sagged in relief. He had reached the border. As long as he got to the other side, the—the  _thing_ couldn't follow him. No one would be stupid enough to hunt him down in the dragon lands. 

“Your Highness.” Izuku didn’t turn to look at the thing masquerading as a person. He was too busy scanning the sky. “There is no need for this. If you come quietly, there will be no need to tell your Lady Mother about all this.”

There! A glint of white and yellow, swiftly moving in. There! Another glint, another dragon, red and white, also moving in. They got it! They got his letter! He turned to face Naraku, his mother’s newest adviser, with a confident grin  that clearly took the thing aback. “Tell my mother,” he said, “that I’ve gone to live with dragons.” He turned and launched himself off the cliff and into the arms of the first dragon. He clutched his old friend. “Kacchan,” he whispered, trying not to cry.

“Calm down Deku,” Katsuki, son of Mitsuki Bakugo, leader of the Bakugo dragons, said as he embraced his friend while glaring at the man on the edge. “I’ve got you.” He turned his attention to the person in front of him, on the cliff. “You fucking retard!” he yelled. Red eyes narrowed at his target. 

“Fire,” Naraku ordered.

A hail of arrows flew from the woods around the man, towards the dragon and his childhood friend—only to fall as ice encrusted them and forced them to drop. “Katsuki,” the white and red dragon said as he glided in beside the first dragon. “Izuku is bleeding.”

Katsuki let loose a string of curses as he realized the other dragon was right—his Deku was bleeding, and pretty bad. How much blood did a human have in them? “You got this?” he demanded.

Two eyes, one gray and one blue, glared at the figure on the cliff. “I do,” he affirmed grimly.

“And whom,” demanded the figure, long black locks flowing in the wind, “might you be?”

“I am Shoto Todoroki, third Heir to the Todoroki Dragon clan,” the white and red dragon said. More arrows thronged from the tree line to be incinerated by Shoto’s fire. His eyes narrowed at the man with black, rope-like hair billowing in the wind, and he asked, “Who might _you_ be?”

“I am Naraku, adviser to King Toshinori and Queen Inko.”

“Oh?” Shoto’s eyebrows rose. “And what happened to Adviser Iida?”

“He became...indisposed.”

“I see.” Shoto allowed his wings to drop him to where he was on eye level with the new adviser. “Then, since you are new, I will give you some advice. Antagonizing the dragons is an act of _war_ , Adviser Naraku.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“See that you do.” Shoto turned and his wings pumped furiously to take him towards the other two.

 

“Oh my!” Queen Inko, sitting on her throne, said as she held a hand to her mouth. Her green hair waved around her face with the motion, her eyes wide in shock. “A white and gold dragon came to take Izuku away?”

“I am sorry, Majesty,” Naraku said from his humble kneeling position. Keeping his head down he kept his smile hidden. Stealing the second prince had to be an act of war. He would lead the army into the dragon lands to reclaim the missing prince—and claim a few other things as well.

“It’s too early,” fretted the queen.

_What?_ Naraku glanced up in shock at the queen.  The queen looked worried—but not frantic. Given the nature of her relationship with the second prince, she should have been calling the hounds of war to get her child back. She wasn’t.

Footsteps heralded the approach of King Toshinari. “Inko?” he asked in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Ink o looked up into her husband’s  blue eyes. “Dear, Katsuki’s taken Izuku away.”

Once again the response was not what Naraku was expecting. “Already? The sly dog.” King Toshinari chuckled. “Or maybe,” he added thoughtfully, “it was  _Izuku_ who couldn't wait. He  _did_ present last year.”

“But why wouldn't he _tell_ me about it?” seethed Inko.

King Toshinari claimed one of Queen Inko’s hands and kissed the back of it. “For the same reason you didn’t tell  _your_ mother.”

“Oh!” Inko’s round cheeks flushed as Toshinari took his seat next to her. “Should we tell Itsuki he should be expecting to be an uncle soon?”

Toshinari laughed again. “I think that’s a decision best left to the three involved.” He looked at Naraku, who was still kneeling in front of them. “You must be surprised Naraku,” he said.

Surprised was only a small part of what Naraku was feeling.  Mostly it was confusion, but he knew that would give way to frustrated irritation soon enough. He needed to finish this audience and get away from these two before he did something that would crack their glamour. He still wasn’t certain why the glamour hadn’t worked on the second prince—it had certainly worked on everyone else!

“See, Izuku has been engaged to two dragons since they were all children,” Inko explained.

Toshinari chuckled. “It was so sweet,” he told the new adviser. “There the three of them were, both dragons fighting over him, when he announced that all three of them were going to be mates when they grew up.”

And his parents, these idiots, just  _allowed_ a  _child_ to decide who his spouses would be?

“Chief Enji wasn’t very happy about it, but Mitsuki talked him around,” Inko said.

Toshinari snorted. “Can you blame him. Look what happened to  _his_ mate.”

“ _His_ mate had no idea what it meant to bond. Izuku does.”

Clearly they had. Very well. Naraku wasn’t certain what he’d do with this new information—but in time he’d be able to use it to his advantage. He always could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having gotten Izuku away, it's now time to heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my schedule's all kinds of messed up and for reasons I refuse to disclose I'm glued to the computer for a while. So--new chapter. Enjoy.

Shoto kept his flying as level as possible, to make the ride easier on the elderly one he was carrying. The other, younger one, was on his back, but he was holding—carefully, so as not not nick the old woman with his poisoned red claws—the elderly one. He had been assured that both were the best healers on the mountain, which was why he had  asked them to come.  _Asked_ them and not  _told_ him, because no matter what the other dragon thought, Izuku was not in mortal danger. Yet. And both women had not only agreed to come with him, but had gathered such an amount of supplies that he needed to shift into full dragon form just to carry all three. He would have demanded the amount be lessened—but he had no idea what would be vital. He was terrified that they would get there only to discover that what they needed was something they’d been forced to leave behind—so he carried it all.

If Shoto had been in his normal, half-human form when they reached the camp he would have frowned. His eyes, excellent in all forms,  caught the sight of Bakugo out of the tent and gathering snow before going back into the tent. What on earth did the dragon think he was doing? Izuku needed to be kept warm—humans couldn't survive the snow without protection!

He landed awkwardly on his hind feet, trying not to jar either the elderly woman or the huge package he was holding, and gently put both of them on the ground. The young one nimbly leaped off as he shifted back to his normal half-human form.  The elderly one watched him with her one good eye as he grabbed the heavy pack (he’d already told both of them he’d carry it where it was needed). “Again, I tell you,” she said. “Heal dragons I can not.”

There was only one human crazy enough to even  _want_ to heal dragons—and he was lying injured in the tent. “I didn’t bring you here for a dragon,” he told the woman as he hauled the bag into the tent. Luckily, the tent was a large round one, similar to the ones the migrating humans used when they crossed the mountains. It might even have  _been_ one of those tents; he didn’t know anything about Bakugo’s hunting habits.

Inside the tent Bakugo was carefully administering snow to Izuku’s forehead. “What are you doing?” he demanded as he dropped the bag and ran over, his claws digging into the thick carpet of the floor.

“He has a high fever,” Bakugo explained. “It spiked after you went to get healers.” The snow began to melt almost as soon as it came into contact with the hot skin.

Izuku looked much worse than he had when the two had rescued him. His wounds were red and inflamed, his skin was pale as snow making his freckles stand out in stark contrast on his cheeks, and his breathing was hitched and irregular. “He wasn’t nearly this bad earlier.”

Bakugo growled as the last of the snow melted away, dribbling into the carpet. “I’m afraid to move him.”

“For good reason,” the young healer stated. She knelt beside the prone boy and prodded one of the raised wounds. “Kaede, look at this.”

The elderly woman bent her one good eye towards the wound and nodded. “We’ll need the needles and the bowls Kikyo,” she ordered.

Kikyo eyed both dragons. “You will need to help us,” she told them. “Time is of the essence if we want to get the poison out before it kills him.”

“Poison?” demanded both Bakugo and Shoto at the same time as they stared at the women.

Kikyo’s lips pressed together as Kaede limped to the bag and began pulling supplies out. “Yes. I have—I have seen this once before. We must get the poison out before it reaches the heart!” When Kaede handed her a bowl and a needle she showed them how to pierce the skin and draw the poison out.

“Put your ice away,” Bakugo told Shoto. “This is a fire job.” Shoto nodded and used his flame in the way that only the best trained of the dragons could—with precision.

Both he and Bakugo made needles of flame and used that to help suck the poison out. The poison was easy to see, because it was thick and clear. It tried to run though, to hide in parts of the body not yet affected—but none of the people in the tent would allow that. Bakugo occasionally reached over with a separate flame to destroy the poison accumulating inside the bowls.  Shoto was not quite that good with his flame, but agreed it was a good idea.

Finally, after far too long, it seemed they were done. Izuku’s coloring had gone back to normal.  Shoto gently stroked the sweat-soaked hair off the boy’s face and noticed that the fever had broken. And now that the fever broke, the boy began to shiver.

Kikyo laid several blankets, taken from the bag, over Izuku. Both Shoto and Bakugo reached up and pulled the blankets in tight against the still form, trying to keep him warm and safe from drafts. “ Something to be aware of, you should,” Kaede said as she hobbled towards the three of them and Kikyo stepped back. “This poison messed with him, it has. His body not normal will be.”

Kikyo sighed as the two dragons tried to understand what the elderly woman was telling them and rephrased it for them. “When he wakes up he’ll go into heat.” Both sets of eyes went wide and they looked at the human between them with what was, to Kikyo, unusual tenderness and  affection.

“Well,” Bakugo said after a moment. “It’s supposed to be a private thing anyway.”

Shoto reached over with an arm that developed claws and scales to grip the other dragon’s shoulder. “He can’t  _consent_ like this Bakugo,” he said grimly.

Bakugo opened his mouth, closed it, and then buried his face in one hand (the other still resting against Izuku’s face). “We can’t  _leave_ him like this!” Bakugo growled.

Kikyo hesitated. If they were human, she never would have even thought to mention it—but these dragons were not like the humans she knew. “There may be—something.” she said hesitantly.

Kaede frowned. “Kikyo, a good idea this is not,” she told the younger one.

Kikyo wasn’t watching Kaede; she was watching the two dragons. More importantly, she was watching the way both dragons made sure that some part of their skin was in contact with the boy’s—not to restrain him, but for comfort. His or theirs she wasn’t sure—and she didn’t need to know. She knew that they cared for the boy, not as a possession, but as a  _person_ .

“Something?” asked Shoto, hope in his voice.

“There is,” Kikyo continued, ignoring Kaede’s warning glare, “a medicine that, when used properly, can hold off heat.” She looked at the other two. “It won’t work long,” she admitted, “but it should work long enough for him to heal properly, so you can get back—back to your home.”

“There is a medicine to hold off heat?” asked Shoto in wonder. If there was, and if his mother had had it, then maybe…

“Most alphas do not like the thought of heat suppression,” Kaede interrupted. “So—say nothing of it Kikyo and I do. _Most_ of the time.”

Shoto released Bakugo’s shoulder and rested his hand on Izuku’s other cheek. “Do you have the medicine with you?” he asked. He didn’t see how they couldn't, not with the size of the bag they had brought, but he  knew better than to assume.

Kaede hesitated, but answered. “Aye, we do.”

“Do it.” The order came from Bakugo, on Izuku’s other side. He met Shoto’s eyes and nodded before turning. “Give him the medicine and buy him time to heal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone enjoying? Anyone?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More healing and Izuku mentions what led him to run in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so--still trapped in front of the monitor. Also noticed that Kaede sounds kind of like Yoda--but I like it and I'm not changing it. So--enjoy. Third chapter up tonight. Wee. (Hoping I can get away from the computer soon.)

Izuku didn’t want to move too much. He felt comfortable and cozy—and like any movement at all would cause him pain. What happened? Why did he feel like that?

“Awake you are?” asked a voice, an unfamiliar voice. Izuku opened his eyes—and stared into the face of the oldest human he has ever seen. The masses of wrinkles on her face almost hid her single eye—the other covered by a patch of some kind. “Hurt, does it?” the old woman asked kindly.

Izuku opened his mouth to speak and a croak came out. His throat felt dry and cracked and he whimpered. “Hold on,” a familiar voice said as someone helped him sit up. Another woman, a beautiful young woman, held a bowl full of clear liquid to his mouth. He drank, the cool water (for that was what was in the bowl) soothing his throat.

“Easy you must be,” the old woman said as she pushed back one of the blankets covering him to hold out one of his arms. Izuku stared at the raised scars covering the arm and the old woman hummed thoughtful. “Healing well they are. Well you will be, in time.”

The younger woman took the bowl away and walked outside. When she came back in it was full, and she held it up for Izuku again. “You need fluids now,” she told him. “Your body became very dry as a result of the fever.”

“Aye, and the poison help did not,” the old woman added as she limped over towards a large bag.

Izuku lifted his head from the bowl and tried to shake the spike of hair out of his eyes.  A cool hand reached up from behind him and brushed the annoying hair away. “Better?” the familiar voice asked.

“Shoto,” Izuku said before looking and grinning. He was relieved he finally recognized the voice.

Shoto smiled, the gray and blue eyes looking into Izuku’s green ones. “You’re back,” he said softly.

Before Izuku could ask what he was back from, the flap of the tent opened again letting in a blast of cold air that swirled around the newest entry. Pleased that he could remember the newcomer, Izuku reached a hand towards him. “Kacchan,” he said.

Katsuki ran the rest of the way towards Izuku and buried his face in the human’s chest. Izuku calmly hugged the dragon as he nuzzled, careful to keep his horns from digging into Izuku’s body.  The two women watched, warily. Izuku dimly realized, as more of his brain came alive, that they didn’t realize how different Shoto and Kacchan were from most alphas. The three of them had been together for a long time, since they were children. His mother and father were friends to the leaders of the Bakugo dragon clan and the Todoroki dragon clan, and they had often visited. The three of them had practically grown up together. He remembered how his mother had—

His mother.  Izuku gasped and Kacchan pulled away as Shoto helped him sit up. “What is it?” Katsuki asked as he got to one side and Shoto got to the other so that he’d both be supported and could see them both. 

“Mom,” he said, “Dad!” he began to cry.

Shoto hummed gently and rubbed his back to calm him down while Katsuki looked a hair’s breadth away from going into a rage. Of course, Katsuki looked like that most of the time… “What happened?” Shoto asked.

Hesitantly, Izuku told them. He told them of looking for his mother,  only to find her in a room with a man who would soon become her adviser. Of seeing the odd pink-purple light that enveloped the woman—and how she didn’t seem to remember anything about it. Over the next few days people's attitudes kept changing—slightly, but noticeably—and one day Iida, the closest adviser to the throne—just vanished. No one seemed to find it strange but him, no one else seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. 

Then other things began to happen. Whenever Izuku would go out for a horse ride his tack would be in repair, or the horse with the vet, or  _something_ . If he went to go out into the city, he’d be turned back—there was a riot, there were rumors of a threat against the crown,  _something_ . Izuku realized that he was being kept in the castle, but didn’t realize how serious the situation had become—until he found drugs in his food.  He never would have noticed if the dog hadn’t stolen dinner, like always—and then fell fast asleep.

That was in Izuku had known that something was horribly, terribly wrong and he needed to get out of the castle—as fast as possible. He had gone to the aviary (no one had thought to bar him from it) and used pigeons to  send out two letters—one to Kacchan, and one to Shoto.

Then he had slipped out of the castle. As children the three of them had frequently slipped out through the hidden door to play in the forest; something Inko allowed because there was nothing in the forest that could hurt Izuku while he was with Shoto and Katsuki. He had been so wrapped up in childhood memories that, at first, he hadn’t realized he was being pursued. It hadn’t taken long, however, for the distinctive sound of a horseshoe hitting a rock to wake him from his nostalgic memories.

His first thought had been to reason with the guards after him—but one look at their faces told him that it would be no use. They stared ahead, blankly, and showed nothing—no emotion, no effort to control their horses—nothing. They also didn’t speak—not to each other, or to their commander. Their commander who was, to his astonished worry, none other than the aide who kept putting people under spells. Finally, with no other choice, he ran for the border hoping, praying, that his letters had gotten through and that help would be waiting. He described the tentacles that sprang from the ground—

“Naraku,” spat the young woman suddenly.

Izuku’s head spun so fast it ached as he stared at the young woman. “You—know him?” he asked.

“I know him,” growled the young woman darkly. The old woman put a comforting hand on the young one’s shoulder.

“Is there,” Izuku swallowed before continuing. “Is there anyway to help the people he’s—done whatever-it-is to?”

“Called a glamour, it is,” the old woman said. “And do?” She shrugged and shook her head. “Nothing there is we can do. However, should the glamour stop being spun, those posessed by it shall normal go back to.”

The young one laughed bitterly. “Normal!” she chuckled.

“Aye. More snow for water, go you get.” The older woman gently turned her and gave her a push towards the tent flap. 

Izuku flushed as his stomach growled audibly. Shoto looked at Katsuki and asked, “What are the chances you actually remembered to get food?”

“I didn’t forget!” snarled Katsuki. He strode to the flap and pulled it aside leaking in snow and air. Outside, just beyond the flap, were the partially frozen carcasses of two wild beasts. Izuku didn’t quite know what they were, but they were covered in long ropes of fur and twice the size of the oxen he was familiar with. Each one was twice the size of an oxen. Katsuki preened against the open flap, not feeling cold. “See? Plenty of food, just what Deku needs to recover.”

Shoto groaned and put his forehead in his hand. “Did you forget that Izuku’s not a dragon?” he demanded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *on knees begging* Comment! Comment, please? Anyone? At all?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoto informs his father about what's going on, and gets more food for the little group.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuck at the computer--again. Hope people reading are enjoying!

Shoto perched carefully on the rock he’d chosen, wings slightly mantled as he watched his father digest the news that he had brought. Enji Todoroki closed his eyes as he contemplated the news. One of the things that made him the clan leader was his ability to step back from a situation and examine it from all angles.  It was an ability that Shot knew had been hard earned—but the clan benefited from it greatly.

Enji was perched on another rock and, like most the dragons in the area, was in his half-human state. His red hair swayed in the breeze while he thought, and the other dragons of the can waited to hear what he would say. “ Naraku is trying to start a war between the dragons and the humans,” he announced.

A gasp went up all around them as the dragons tried to figure out  _why_ someone would want a war between the two groups. Dragons stayed in their clearly defined territory, unless they were specifically invited, like the invitations that King and Queen Midoriya had issued to the leaders of Clans Todoroki and Bakugo over the course of the years, so their children could grow up together.

Enji opened his eyes and looked at his clan. “Shoto, you said they  fired arrows at Bakugo, after seeing Izuku leap towards him, off a cliff.”

Shoto’s wings mantled in surprise, but he nodded. “They did. I destroyed the arrows.”

“If Izuku had died,” Enji continued, “he likely would have gone to the King and Queen and convinced them that the two of you had killed him. With them under his control, with the boy dead, they would have gone to war against us.”

Shoto growled as a flash of Izuku, eyes wide and shining with a bright smile, crossed his mind. He couldn't believe someone had wanted to kill him for such a stupid reason. He wanted to rip the adviser to shreds but—but that  _would_ be an act of war.

“In this case,” continued Enji as he looked over his clan, “his plans worked against him. I believe he went to Izuku’s parents and told them how the boy was abducted by you,” one red and one white claw punched holes in the rock and no one commented, “but the three of you have been engaged for quite some time. Likely the assumption made was that you couldn't wait any more for the inevitable to happen and the three of you eloped. We will do what we can to reinforce that belief.” Enji scanned his clan, his people one more time. “I want the breeding grounds reinforced and patrols stepped up along the border with the human realms.” Dozens of wings snapped to attention and dragons flew off, leaving Enji and Shoto alone. “Have the three of you created your nesting ground yet?” he asked his son.

With an effort Shoto pulled his talons from the stone. “Not yet Father,” he admitted. “We were a little busy keeping Izuku alive.” He and Bakugo had picked out a valley—but the final decision had to be Izuku’s, since he couldn't fly away if he didn’t like it. 

“Pick one out as soon as possible. Then we’ll be able to go and get his things from his parents.”

“Yes, Father.”

“One more thing.” Enji hesitated, and Shoto knew why. “Shoto—how did his heat go?”

“He hasn’t had it yet.”

“What?”

Shoto nodded. He looked around the valley. The two healers had asked for his silence—but his father deserved to know.  _Needed_ to know, considering how many of the clan were omegas. “The two healers we found had a medicine,” he said, keeping his voice low, “that is able to put off heat.”

Enji’s wings mantled so hard that dust flew around the two of them, and his talons punched into the rock he was perched on. “What?” he asked, eyes wide and round. Shoto simply nodded. “This is—I would like to meet these healers,” he said firmly as he reigned himself in. “To meet them and ask—ask if this medicine can work for dragons.”

“Izuku might be a better one to answer that,” Shoto said, “considering how he’s been studying us.” He still remembered the day Izuku told both him and Bakugo that he was going to grow up to be a dragon doctor to make all their hurts feel better. It was naive, but the two dragons closest to him wanted to support that dream. They _all_ wanted to support that dream. Perhaps, Shoto mused, Izuku would simply be the _first_ dragon doctor, instead of the only one.

“Izuku might be able to make a better medicine later,” Enji said thoughtfully, “but I would like something _now_.” He mulled over the idea. “It’s possible the healers might know a way to make scents subtle as well, and we know that perfumes work on dragons the same as they do on humans.”

Shoto nodded. “True,” he admitted. “When I get back I’ll ask the healers about the scents, and then let them know you wish to have an audience with them.”

One of the most fundamental differences between dragons and humans was that if a human leader wanted to “request” someone's presence, it was an order and if a dragon leader requested someone's presence—it was just that. A request that held no consequences if the person asked said “no”. Enji had no idea that human leaders were like that, but Shoto knew it all too well.

“I must get back,” Shoto told his father. He didn’t like leaving Izuku for too long—but he knew that _nothing_ would get to Izuku through Bakugo. Besides, unlike Bakugo _Shoto_ never forgot that Izuku was human and that made _him_ the better hunter for the three humans in the tent. Of course, if something _tried_ to get to Izuku—it wouldn't necessarily occur to Bakugo to protect the healers. The other dragon could be simple-minded at times.

Enji nodded, realizing all this and more. “After you’re back,” he said slowly to his son, “send Bakugo to his mother to give her a report.” He shook his head. “I don’t want that mad dragon descending on our clan to demand why we knew and she didn’t.”

Shoto winced but—but that was exactly what  Mitsuki Bakugo, leader of Clan Bakugo would do, and they all knew it. Where Enji and the Todoroki’s were the epitome of control, Mitsuki and the Bakugo’s were almost chaos defined. Oddly enough, that was one of the reasons the leaders got along so well. Neither ventured into what the other saw as their territory. Shoto nodded, and launched himself into the sky. 

Before he went back to the tent he stopped for some hunting. Kikyo, Kaede, and Izuku had been very gracious about Bakugo’s kills—but humans needed more than meat. While a wounded dragon could, nine times out of ten, gorge on huge amounts of meat, sleep, and wake healed and rested, humans were more delicate. Besides that, the two healers weren’t  injured or sick and weren’t fighting off the effects of a poison that neither dragon had seen before.

Shoto saw a large woolly ram and, before the animal knew what hit it, killed it. After making sure he hadn’t nicked the prey with his poisoned talons (it would do no good for the meat to be contaminated), he took it to a human village to exchange, weight for weight, with vegetables, grains, and bandages. The healers had used a lot of bandages on Izuku, and he was going through them quickly as the scabs kept tearing. The villagers tied the lot of the items up in a large burlap bag, which Shoto then took to the tent. 

Kikyo was standing outside the tent, wind blowing her long robes, a bow and arrow in her hands as she surveyed the landscape around them. He landed next to her—not silently, he’d seen her turn a rampaging bull with one of those arrows and no wish to be pierced by the next one—and asked, “Any trouble?”

“There is something in the wind,” Kikyo said, never taking her eyes off the horizon, “but it is not yet here.” Suddenly she looked at the bag that Shoto was carrying. “What is that?”

“Food and bandages. Human food,” he added. “I know humans need more than meat.”

“Humans _also_ need meat,” Kikyo told him in a slightly scolding tone.

Shoto nodded and went into the tent. Izuku was, once again, sleeping and the pile of dirty bandages had grown, making him glad he’d stopped to get the new ones. Bakugo was partially reclined next to Izuku, keeping one hand in his own. “What did your father say?” he asked.

“He said you should tell your mother what’s going on before she hears the gossip from our clan,” Shoto told him as he handed the bag to Kaede—who made pleased little noises as she went through it.

“Mother fucker.” Bakugo motioned Shoto down. “He needs to hold hands,” he told the other dragon. Shoto obediently knelt on the opposite side and took Izuku’s other hand out of the blankets—only to have Izuku’s delicate fingers lock between his own as he turned his head in Shoto’s direction and sighed.

“Keeping nightmares at bay it is,” Kaede informed him as Bakugo gently removed his hand from Izuku’s grip and pushed it back under the blankets. “Restful sleep he needs now.”

“Yes,” Shoto agreed as Bakugo left the tent and winged off. He looked at the elderly healer, counting wing-beats until Bakugo was out of ear shot. “My father would like to talk to you as well,” he told the healer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katsuki makes his report to his clan leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, this one's shorter than the last few--but the meds have finally kicked in and I'm finally going to bed. See everyone later!

When Katsuki finished reporting his mother went absolutely still. He could feel her fighting the rage building in her body at the mere  _thought_ of her best friend or her best friend’s family being in danger. He and every other dragon in the valley, stayed silent and still while she fought the rage down. She may have been their clan chief, but she was also the most dangerous beast in the clan, and they all knew it.

Mitsuki Bakugo let out a slow breath and the dragons around her relaxed—slightly. She frowned. “They fired arrows at you  _after_ you caught Izuku?” she asked for clarification. He nodded. She growled and her eyes glowed for a moment before she fought it back down. “Has Izuku had his heat yet?”

Katsuki’s wings mantled—but his mother, his chief, had a right to know. “Not yet,” he said. “According to the healers, it won’t come for a  couple of weeks.” He shrugged as she pinned him with a glare. “They’re human healers. According to Half and Half, they’re the best human healers he could find. I think they know what they’re talking about.”

“Inko once told me,” Mitsuki said slowly, “that when an unbonded omega gets injured, that omega will go into heat as soon the injury is no longer life threatening.”

The healers had mentioned that alphas (and Katsuki’s mother was most definitely an alpha) didn’t like the idea of an omega being able to hold off heats. Whether or not his mother would react poorly to such news—she was not the only alpha in the clan. He didn’t want to start a hunt for the two healers who knew how to hold off heats.

“It might have something to do with the poison,” Katsuki said thoughtfully. He shrugged again and mantled nervously. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added with complete honesty.

“Have they?” asked Masumi, Katsuki’s father.

Katsuki had never really understood why his mother mated a beta, but he had to admit that his father had a knack for getting to the heart of the matter. “They have. They knew what to do almost as soon as they saw him—which was more than I did.” He drooped. It didn’t matter that the two healers had told him he did right to try and combat the wild fever that had developed—what mattered was that Izuku,  _his_ Izuku, had been hurting and dying and there was nothing he could have done other than put snow on his head to try and bring the fever down.

“Has Izuku recovered enough to see the valley you and Shoto picked out?” Mitsuki suddenly asked.

The eyes of the dragons in the clan turned to her in surprise. “No,” Katsuki said. “He’s still not well yet.”

“All right.” Mitsuki jumped from her perch and landed on the ground before dishing out her orders. “I want you to stay as close to your mates as you can,” she told him. “I’m going to visit Inko and ask her for Izuku’s belongings. The story,” she continued with a glare around at her clan, “is that Izuku’s heat came early and Shoto and Katsuki went to get him. Since it came so suddenly, they didn’t have time to get to the proper nesting ground, and I’m setting it up for them. I know,” she said whirling on her son as he opened his mouth, “that he hasn’t seen it yet and you’re not sure he’s going to like it. That doesn’t matter. What _matters_ is that some monster mind manipulating my best friend wants out son dead.” Her eyes narrowed. “He’s not going to get his wish. I don’t want Izuku anywhere _near_ that bastard!” she snarled.

Katsuki’s eyes widened as he realized (contrary to what the other dragon thought, he was  _not_ an idiot) what his mother was doing. His mother was going to go visit her friend and see how bad the mind control was—while at the same time making sure that everyone knew if  _anyone_ went after Izuku they’d have to deal with not one, but  _two_ very pissed off dragon clans…

At that moment Katsuki realized he loved his mother. “Please don’t forget his books,” he said. Izuku would be fine without most anything else—but the books were irreplaceable. Hopefully that rope-haired bastard hadn’t figured that out.

Mitsuki nodded. “Go to your mates,” she ordered. “Make sure Shoto knows what I’m going to do—I can just see him trying to get Izuku’s stuff on his own.” Katsuki winced; he could picture the same thing. “And tell Izuku—” she hesitated. “Tell Izuku that we all love him,” she said quietly. Then she turned to the other dragons of the clan. “All right you lazy bums!” she shouted as she took to the air. “Time for you to  _earn_ that food you’ve been gobbling! I want you,” she said pointing to roughly half of the assembled dragons, “ to guard the nesting grounds— _all_ of them!” She snarled at the discontented murmurings. “Yes,” she growled, “you will be working with the Toshinari. Grow up! You,” she said turning to the other half of the assembled, “will be guarding the border of the humans. Don’t give me that!” The snarl snapped through the valley, cracking rocks and making eardrums ring. “I want to know if anyone even  _dares_ to step foot in our lands.”

Her gaze swept through the assembled dragons. “Well?” she demanded in a voice that was half-bark, half-snarl. “MOVE IT!” All the dragons took off.

As his wings pumped him towards the tent where Shoto and the two healers were, Katsuki hoped that Shoto would understand why his mother wanted to go into the human lands and get Izuku’s belongings. He also hoped that Izuku would be awake by the time he got there; all this sitting by the bedside helpless was making him want to rend things into little pieces.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, back at the castle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--I'm back in front of the computer. Good for typing purposes, because living in this world is easier right now. I don't know how many chapters I'll get done tonight before it's back to work, but at least I'm off tonight! Also--I noticed (thanks to a comment) that I've been misspelling one of the names in the story, and I'm changing it here. Sorry for any confusion, but Shoto=Shouto. Thanks for being patient with me.

Claws clicked on tile and Mitsuki smiled. She remembered when Inko remodeled the castle to have tile instead of hardwood floors. Several of her noble advisers at the time had voraciously cried against the expense—so Inko had audited them, found they were all skimping on their taxes (which everyone had known) and used the owed taxes to pay for project while at the same time  patiently explaining to all of her advisers that the tile was a better investment than hardwood, since tile didn’t need replaced after coming into contact with dragon claws. There was a reason she only had one adviser these days.

In several ways, it was a shame that Inko was human. With her attitude, both fierce and sweet, she would have made an ideal dragon. Still, if she’d been a dragon, the little bit of light known as Izuku wouldn't have been born and wouldn't have tamed her son.  Also the Todoroki son. All these years later she still had no idea how that had happened.

“Her Honor, Bakugo Mitsuki,” the majordomo of the court announced when she reached the entrance to the throne room. They all knew better than to try and keep _her_ waiting—and she was a little amused that they had decided to announce her clan first and _then_ her name. Honestly, the attachment these humans had for their names was amusing.

Inko, seated on her throne next to her husband, grinned at her friend. “Mitsuki! What brings you here?”

Mitsuki grinned back, keeping worry hidden. The Inko she knew would have ignored protocol and  run up to give her friend a hug. This Inko stayed on her throne, almost as though the wood was all that was holding her up. It was—disturbing.

“It seems,” Mitsuki said as she continued to walk towards the throne, “that my idiot of a son has decided that he can’t wait for mating anymore.”

Toshinari, on the other throne, chuckled. As upset as Mitsuki was over Inko’s appearance, Toshinari’s was worse—he appeared to be shrinking on himself. “I told you so,” he said to his wife.

Who didn’t appear to be upset by the change. “You did,” she said with a smile. She looked back at Mitsuki. “Did you come to get his things?”

It was then that Mitsuki noticed something—a twitch. A single, tiny muscle over Inko’s eye was twitching rapidly.  Whatever was going on—Inko was fighting it. It wasn’t a fight that Mitsuki could help with, however. “I did,” she answered breezily. “I also came to see if you want in on the betting pool.” 

“Betting pool?” asked Toshinari, blinking.

“On whether Izuku will give birth to babies or eggs,” Mitsuki continued.

“Majesty,” a man that Mitsuki did not recognize said, “Perhaps it is inappropriate to—bet,” his voice twisted the word into something nasty, “on children.”

Inko glanced at him and Mitsuki could see that she was annoyed—a spark of the old Inko. “Dragons,” she informed the man, “are not humans. Besides,” she added as she turned to survey her court, “we all know there will be children.”  There it was, a hint of steel. Not quite as firm as it used to be—but still there. Inko looked back at Mitsuki and smiled. “What have you placed your bets on?” she asked.

“I’m betting on a baby,” Mitsuki said with a grin. “While it is true that the last dragon-half came from an egg—in that case it was the _father_ who was human, not the _mother_.”

“That makes sense,” Inko said with a smile. “And,” she added with a sly grin, “is there a betting pool on which dragon will father the first, or did Katsuki get a big enough head start?”

Mitsuki threw her head back and laughed. Trust Inko to both make her court even  _more_ uncomfortable and remind them that her son was bonding with not one, but two dragons! She decided to throw another stone into the pool. “We wouldn't dare bet on that,” she told her friend, and the court. “If either of them found out about it, they’d probably kill us all!” The two laughed again—even though it was a little acknowledged fact that if Katsuki and Todoroki worked together they could easily destroy both dragon clans. Apart each was insanely strong, together they were unbeatable. 

The only thing stopping them from trying was Izuku. Izuku, the little green bundle of sweetness and light, with his dream of one day being a dragon doctor. Mitsuki wasn’t entirely certain where the dream had come from, to be honest, but she welcomed anything that meant she wasn’t going to have to fight her son to the death in a few years.  So even though she didn’t understand  _why_ Izuku wanted to be a dragon doctor, she firmly supported it.

Inko beckoned to one of the servants. “Bundle up all of Izuku’s things,” she told the woman, “and bring them here.”

“Don’t forget the books and notebooks,” Mitsuki added. As the servant scurried away she confided, “If I forget those, Katsuki will challenge me just for the right to kick my ass.”

“Of course,” said Inko with a sweet smile as her hand sought out her husband’s.

Mitsuki noticed the twitch was reducing speed. Perhaps she’d given her friend some piece of mind about her son. Perhaps it just felt better to think that Mitsuki was helping in any way.

“So you are aware that your son just stole the prince?” asked the same man as earlier.

Mitsuki eyed him. He was dressed in an odd garment that was half robe and half pants. He also met her gaze calmly, not something many humans did. “You must be Naraku,” she said, making his eyes widen slightly. “I’ve heard about you.”

The thin, pressed smile returned. “And have your sons called for healers, Your Honor?”

Mitsuki blinked lazily. “Healers?” she asked. “Why would they  _need_ healers, Naraku?”

“Indeed,” huffed Inko on the throne. A glance showed that her round cheeks were puffed out with annoyance. “Katsuki and Shouto would _never_ hurt Izuku!”

“Or,” added Mitsuki warningly, “allow anyone to hurt Izuku.” She met Narkau’s eyes squarely so he would know that she knew. Let him wonder how much—perhaps it would make him cautious.

Five servants arrived with three chests; a clothes chest (that a single servant was carrying) and two chests with what Mitsuki assumed were the books and notebooks. As she was about to request the items to be sent to the courtyard and bundled up for easy carrying, Inko leaned forwards in her throne. “That doesn’t look like all of Izuku’s belongings,” she said.

One of the servants glanced at Naraku before answering. “We thought—we thought he just needed his clothes and books.”

“I said _all_ his belongings,” Inko continued. “That means _all_ of them—even the bed. Katsuki and Shouto may be dragons,” Inko told Mitsuki as the servants scurried off, “but Izuku is human, and humans need beds.”

Mitsuki shrugged, pleased that Inko was still showing independence of Naraku. “You would know better than I,” she said.

Inko smiled and leaned back into the throne. Mitsuki couldn't help but notice that she looked exhausted, as if ordering the servant had taken too much out of her. “Plus,” Inko added, “he’s going to need things for his nest.”

_That_ concept dragons were familiar with. “Of course. I merely thought those would have been packed with clothes, since humans like cloth.”

“Majesty,” Naraku said, seemingly humble, “I do not believe there will be enough room in here for all of your son’s belongings.”

The way that Naraku was avoiding Izuku’s name was starting to grate on Mitsuki. Still—these weren’t the dragon lands. She didn’t have the power to just kill the man; she’d have to leave dealing with him to Inko and her husband. Like the leader of Clan Todoroki, she remembered back when humans saw their kind as sport, and was not anxious to revive those dark old days.

Inko smiled at the room. “Then let us all adjourn to the courtyard,” she said brightly. “Mitsuki, will you be a dear?”

Mitsuki was by Inko’s side helping her up.  _Helping_ , because Inko was cursedly weak. There was a lot more going on in the castle than just mind control, if the way Inko was having trouble moving and the servants were looking to  _Naraku_ before their royalty was anything to go by. “I am always here for you,” she told her friend, hoping the woman would get the message. 

“Thank you,” said Inko blandly. Mitsuki would have despaired, thinking that Inko didn’t understand what she was saying—except that Inko was quite capable of playing a double game. It was impossible to know if Inko was pretending not to realize what Mitsuki was saying—or if she really didn’t realize it.

In any event, these were not her lands, these people were not her clan (Izuku hasn’t bonded to Katsuki  _yet_ ), and she had no business interfering. She helped Inko out to the courtyard, careful not to step on the woman’s feet with her dragon claws. A pile of goods (including the original trunks) were on two huge tarps that had been woven together, making them easy to carry.

Inko’s gaze roamed over the tarps and their contents before she gave a sharp not. “That seems to be everything,” she said with relief. She looked up into Mitsuki’s eyes. “Look after the boys, Mitsuki. They’ll need all the help they can get.”

Mitsuki nodded. “Of course,” she said to her friend. Then, leaving Inko to lean against a servant, she strode to the center of the courtyard and changed into her full dragon form before picking up the goods and taking off. Part of her heart remained in the courtyard with Inko, a sorrowful realization that the woman truly expected to die, and die soon.

It was a good thing that it was impossible to cry in full dragon form.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, Izuku's feeling better. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little longer of a chapter, but there was more that needed said. And yes, Kikyo really is risking her arms.

“Really?” asked Izuku, quivering slightly with his need to write this new information down. His mind whirled with the possibilities—a medicine that could postpone heats. That would be—revolutionary. “How does it work? Does it block the hormonal triggers? Does it fool the body into thinking it’s not time for a heat? How does it work?”

Katsuki, from his space at the edge of the tent (not that he  _wanted_ to move away from Deku, but the healers made it clear he had to start sitting up on his own) chuckled. The two women had no idea what they were in for, now that he was mostly awake and able to quiz them. The two women had been surprised when he’d sipped a tea they’d given him and he’d labeled each and every ingredient in it—and the looks on the two faces had been priceless. He was almost sorry the other dragon wasn’t there to see it—almost.

Izuku shot him a grin, knowing what he was thinking before turning back to the two women. “Ah, well,” Kikyo said uncertainly.

“Know _how_ it works we do not,” Kaede said solemnly. “Symptoms, aye, suppression works. Permanent, it is not.”

All three in the tent caught the flicker of relief on Izuku’s face before he leaned forward. “So, what have you noticed about the medicine after you administer it?” His eyes sparkled as he went into depth on his passion and his mind whirled as he tried to figure out if this could apply to dragons.

The tent flap opened and Shouto came in from his latest errand (dumping the human waste a suitable distance from the camp). He saw intense Izuku trying to badger answers out of the two healers and went to sit next to Katsuki. “What did I miss?” he asked in a low voice, so as not to interrupt the three.

Katsuki smirked. “Deku knows everything in that murky tea they keep giving him.”

“Amazing.”

“It’s Deku.” Katsuki’s tone implied that amazing thing would have been if Izuku _hadn’t_ known. 

The two of them watched the animated (well,  _Izuku_ was animated) discussion about hormones and triggers for a moment. “Do you—think he’s well enough to see the valley yet?” Shouto asked.

Years ago, Shouto and Katsuki had gotten together and tried to think of absolutely everything that Izuku would need in his valley home. While they hadn’t exactly found one that was perfect, they had been able to cultivate herbs and crops in the valley—to make it better. The two of them were anxious for Izuku to see it, to see if he’d like it—or if they needed to search more.

“I don’t think so,” Katsuki replied, keeping his voice low. “He looks like that now, but he’s about to collapse again.” He got up and caught Izuku before he collapsed and gently lowered the boy to the blankets.

“He’s—energetic,” Kikyo said, still looking slightly stunned.

Shouto could see how much strain Katsuki had been under by not being in touching distance, so he stayed where he was. “He’s always been fascinated with healing,” he told the two. “He wants to be a dragon doctor.”

“In any event,” Kaede interrupted, “healing well he is. Well enough to move soon he will be.”

Practice at decoding what the old woman said made mental translation easy. “How well will he move?” he asked the women as Katsuki took one of Izuku’s hands in his own again. He fought the urge to be there and take the other one—this conversation was important. “Well enough to be carried by dragon?” he added.

“Depends,” Kikyo said turning her attention, “on if you mean you in full dragon form or in your current half-dragon form.”

“Aye. Smoother you fly as half-human,” Kaede added. “Smoother would be better, so aye. Well enough. _Safe_ enough.”

“And will he still need the two of you?” asked Katsuki.

“He would—if he were not as knowledgeable about medicine as he is. We can instruct him on the proper dosages and how to wean himself off the medicines before he does himself harm.”

Katsuki’s head shot up and he glared at the two of them. “The medicine is dangerous?” he demanded.

Neither healer flinched at his tone. “Only if he takes it too long,” Kikyo told the dragon. Izuku was still sleeping, and Shouto took comfort in the deep, rhythmic sound of his breathing. “All  medicine is like that—safe only when it’s needed.”

K atsuki nodded and relaxed a little. “This tent marvelous is,” Kaede said as she limped over to the most recent bag of bandages that Shouto had brought. “Warm without blocking air, and well padded too.”

Katsuki nodded. “I got it from one of the migrating humans.”

A sliver of dread pricks at Shouto. “Did you kill them Bakugo?” he asked.

“Fuck no!” spat Bakugo. “I fucking traded for the tent. Three of those large meat things.” Katsuki couldn't be bothered with remembering what an animal was called most of the time.

Oddly enough, Shouto could picture the exchange. He could see Bakugo winging over the migrating human camp,  dropping the three bison, and telling everyone who hadn’t fled that he wanted the big red tent over there. Shouto felt certain the humans would have been terrified that Bakugo was going to eat them, and had probably worked faster than they’d ever had in their lives to get the tent ready for Bakugo to take. Then they’d probably stared in shock as he winged away with the tent, leaving the meat behind.

He couldn't stop the chuckle that rose from his throat at the mental image. “ Fuck you!” snarled Katsuki. “Shut up!”

Izuku grunted softly and opened green eyes. “Kacchan?” he asked.

“Hey,” Katsuki said as he gently helped Izuku sit up again. Shouto made his way over to where the two of them were, unable to hold back any longer.

“What happened?” Izuku asked groggily.

Shouto looked at Katsuki and then glanced at the two healers. None of the other three seemed concerned. “You collapsed,” Shouto told Izuku. He braced Izuku’s body with his own and took Izuku’s free hand.

“Too excited you were,” Kaede said as she shuffled over. She peered into each of Izuku’s eyes and nodded. “Too excited for as little healed you are,” she told him. “But worry not, well healing you are.”

“It will take a few days before your stamina is back to normal,” Kikyo informed them. She risked her arms by taking one from Katsuki so she could feel his pulse. “Your growling is interfering with my count,” she told the dragon firmly. Katsuki subsided—slightly. “Good,” she said relinquishing the hand back to the dragon who rubbed it against his face. “Your pulse isn’t too fast or too slow, right where it should be. Good.”

Kaede had hobbled over to the fire. She turned and bent a one-eyed glare on the two dragons. “Getting better he will not be if never sitting himself he is!” she told them.

Katsuki growled—but moved away, still holding Izuku’s hand. His red eyes glared at the two women as Kaede stirred what was in the pot. Shouto had a harder time complying. He wanted Izuku to get better, he really did—but he kept remembering him pale and burning with fever. He was afraid that if he let go, Izuku would vanish.

Izuku turned his head to look at Shouto. “I’m okay,” he told the dragon with a smile. “I really am.”

“Better getting all the time,” Kaede said as she ladled stuff into a bowl. She passed the first bowl to Kikyo (the two women had started showing Katsuki the food wasn’t poison after Izuku nearly choked on the first bowl) before passing an identical bowl to Izuku.

Izuku’s hands trembled as he held the bowl to his mouth, but were steady enough the food didn’t spill.  Shouto’s own hands twitched with the need for help, but Bakugo glared him down. Izuku lowered the bowl and looked at the two healers. “Needle leaves?” he asked.

“Blood still thick is,” Kaede said as she ladled a third bowl. “Weak against disease still you are. Needle leaves help will. Besides,” added the old woman as she took a sip of her own bowl of soup, “good for cold this soup is, healthy you to keep.”

Shouto and Katsuki were no longer paying attention to conversation. Heading towards them was another dragon. Neither of them were sure why another dragon would be paying a visit, but the distinctive sound of the wing-beats labeled the incoming dragon as Enji. 

Enji was rare among the dragons—unlike the others he could transform into a fully human state, and that was what walked into the tent. “Izuku. Bakugo. Shouto. Healers,” he said simply to greet everyone.

Katsuki bristled; he’d never liked Enji. “The fuck do you want?” he growled.

“Kacchan!” admonished Izuku. He looked up at Enji. “Sorry about that Sir.”

Enji smiled, a rare expression for his human face, and the features softened. “There is no need for you to call me ‘Sir’,” he told the human. “We may not be related yet, but we soon will be. Besides, I like to think you’ve been part of the family since long ago.” Izuku flushed, but the two dragons at his side could tell he was pleased, so they said nothing. “I actually came to speak with the healers,” Enji continued as he looked at them. The two women looked startled, and Shouto shifted. He had thought he’d be taking one of the healers to his father, not the other way around. “I understand,” he said eagerly, “that the two of you have a method of postponing heats.”

“Know not if on dragons it works we do,” Kaede said slowly.

Izuku looked up from his soup, eyes sparkling once again. “That depends,” he said happily, “on  _how_ it works!”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuki goes domestic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still typing. Hoping to get as much posted as possible. I know this isn't as long as most of my chapters, but the chapter before it was very long, so--I think it's balanced out.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Fuyumi asked. The red tips of her hair were hidden by the way she’d pulled it back and she looked at the wall critically. More importantly, she looked at the shelf she had just secured to the wall. Normally the omega stayed with her clan, but Mitsuki had managed to draft her for this.

“Of course it is,” Mitsuki told the young dragon. “Izuku will be having his heat any day now, and they won’t have time to worry about a little thing like _getting home ready_.”

“If you’re sure,” Fuyumi said doubtfully. She scratched at the back of her head with the claw end of the hammer she was using. “I thought that Izuku hadn’t seen the valley yet?” she said.

“He hasn’t, but look at all the work that Todoroki and Katsuki have done,” Mitsuki said with pride. Her son had no idea (yet) that she knew all about his little trips to learn farming and what he planted in this sheltered valley—but she was proud of the effort he was going through. For dragons, it was the responsibility of the one that wasn’t laying the egg to make the nest—and the two young dragons had made a fine nest indeed. It just needed a _little_ fine tuning to make it absolutely perfect for young Izuku and the little ones he’d have.

“Mitsuki, what _is_ this thing?” Tatsuo asked as he rocked the piece of furniture he pulled out of the giant tarp.

Mitsuki wasn’t entirely sure  _what_ it was. It was made of wood, had four sides, a mattress on the inside of it, and was far too small for an adult. Still, it was in with the stuff for Izuku, so it must belong to Izuku. “I think it’s for babies,” she said looking at it. The wood at the taller end was engraved with mountains and moons forming the shape of a heart. At the smaller end it was engraved  with dragon wings and books.

Tatsuo poked the thing with a clawed finger. “Wouldn’t a baby break it?” he asked, puzzled.

“Maybe. Don’t forget Izuku’s human—it might have been made for human babies,” Mitsuki said.

“So—we should put it by the bed?”

“No!” scoffed Fuyuki. She pointed with the hammer. “We set up a baby space, remember? If they want to move it later, that’s _their_ business, but right now put all the baby stuff in the baby space.”

Mitsuki grinned as she watched the exchange. She had a thought that the two might,  _might_ get together—they certainly seemed compatible, and it wouldn't be a bad thing if the Bakugo and Todoroki clans united one day. She hummed as she picked up a bunch of blankets (the dragons had brought soft things of their own for the baby space) and hauled them over to the bed.

The bed was huge. It was either too big (if Izuku was the only one in it) or too small (if he was sharing it with both his mates. She wasn’t sure what the purpose of the bed’s size was; but it was definitely Izuku’s bed; she could tell  from the scraps of paper stuck every which way in it. There was a thought—she knew the boy tended to fall asleep reading, so maybe the size of the bed was for both Izuku and the  _books_ .

Fuyuki finished with the shelves she was working on and moved over to start another set. After all, Izuku was going to need  _somewhere_ to keep all those books his mother had sent. No matter how much he loved the boy, Mitsuki couldn't see Katsuki sharing the bed with Izuku  _and_ books. Or allowing books in the bed at all. Then again, given the way they  acted, it was possible the bed could be holding Todoroki, Katsuki, Izuku,  _and_ books. With that image in her head the bed seemed small.

Ah, well, they’d handle it. She turned as she heard a low rumble. The two bickering dragons hadn’t heard it yet, but that was all to the good. “Keep unpacking,” she ordered the two of them. “I have some things to take care of.”

She took off from the cave they were setting up within the nest the young dragons had chosen and cultivated for Izuku. When she was over the valley she turned and looked at it proudly. The series of caves along the mountainside were perfect for housing injured and recovering dragons. There were stairs that Izuku, as the first ever dragon doctor, would be able to climb to get to each cave, the walls were thick enough that one wounded dragon wouldn't  bother the others with moaning. The floor of the valley was mild in weather, and several acres of it had been cultivated with what even Mitsuki recognized as crops and herbs. There was even a space carved out for a heated pool. She couldn't think of anything the two of them hadn’t thought of themselves, and if they thought Izuku wouldn't recognize the work they put into it, well—they didn’t know him as well as they thought. Or they were nervous. She wasn’t sure which it would be.

She turned and took off for the disturbance that was about to infiltrate this peaceful valley. She met two of the border guards before they reached the mountain. Some might call her superstitious, but she didn’t want to risk  any negative feelings getting into the valley before the group did. “What is it?” she demanded of the two.

The dragons, one red and one white, turned. “There’s something you should see,” the white one said. She followed them to the border and saw—something odd. The humans were taking down all the trees that grew along the edge of the cliff and turning white powder into the ground. “We’re not sure what they’re doing,” the white one continued.

“Nothing good,” Mitsuki mused as she noticed the humans taking trees that couldn't possibly be sound lumber by any stretch of the imagination. “Keep an eye on it—but don’t interfere. We don’t want to start a war with the humans.”

“What if they start a war with us?” asked the red one.

She snarled thinking of how her best friend and her best friend’s husband had looked the last time she saw them. “We will finish them,” she told them. She forced herself to calm down. “For now,” she said looking at what the humans were doing, “I want to know how far this goes—and tell Todoroki about it too.” The two dragons nodded and flew off as she watched the humans.

The humans made no sounds to each other as they worked. There was no idle chatter, no called order, and they didn’t seem to be taking breaks, or working in shifts. In short, the behavior was very much like what Izuku had reported he soldiers having when he escaped.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight. “What are you up to?” she asked, knowing that no one would answer.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enji comes to talk to the healers, and we hear a little more from Izuku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--I don't do smut well (hence "implied"). What you read is as close as this story's going to get (random kissage aside). Hope you enjoy it anyway.

After Katsuki finished trying to kill Shouto from giving away information that could have put the healers in danger, the two of them limped back into the tent, still aggravated with each other  and glaring at each other—until they heard Izuku. “So dragons  _really_ have three sets of metabolisms that you need to be careful about,” Izuku was saying.

Both young dragons snickered at how Enji’s eyes were beginning to glaze over. When Izuku got going, nothing much could stop him—and this time, he had an active audience in the form of the two healers as the three of them tried to figure out if it was possible for medicine designed for humans to work on dragons. Shouto and Katsuki made their way over to where Enji was sitting and sat next to him—keeping him between them in case they had to force him out of the tent. “How long’s this been going?” Katsuki asked.

“Since a little after the two of you left. The two healers were concerned, but Izuku said the two of you would feel better if you let out some of your aggression safely.”

“He wasn’t wrong,” Katsuki admitted.

Enji snorted lightly, to avoid upsetting the two young dragons any more than they’d already been. He wasn’t sure  _he_ would have been able to force himself away from his mate long enough to find help if she’d been attacked the way Izuku was…the boy would bear those scars forever.

“But if a dragon suddenly shifts into a smaller form, the same amount of medicine will be cycling in their system,” Izuku lectured.

“Does that mean that if a dragon shifts into a larger form, the same is true?” asked Kikyo intently. Katsuki wondered if she was starting to like the idea of becoming a dragon doctor as well. Izuku would probably be thrilled to have an apprentice—even _if_ the woman had an attitude problem.

“Apply to other shape shifters as well does this?” asked Kaede.

“I don’t know,” Izuku admitted. Katsuki could see wheels start to turn in the green-haired head. “I’ve only studied dragons.”

Katsuki felt a lip begin to curl up. He had a feeling that Izuku had another obsession coming to rival his one with dragons—but he didn’t really mind. Well, not as long as those other shape-shifting bastards stayed away from the three of them. More importantly, he was impressed by how Izuku was still going strong. This was the longest he’d stayed awake since he’d been poisoned—Katsuki saw the tell-tale flutter of the green lashes

Before he could get up Todoroki was there, catching Izuku before he fell over.  Mimicking Katsuki earlier he gently laid Izuku back down and covered him up. “That went well,” Katsuki observed looking at the sleeping face.

“Is this normal?” Enji asked.

“Aye. Healing still he is,” Kaede told the older dragon. “Healing well he is,” she added.

“Only time can help him reclaim his stamina now,” Kikyo told them as she began cleaning up the mess the three of them left as they compared mental notes. 

“Worried about the finger twitches I am,” Kaede confessed. “Nerve damage there may be.”

To her surprise all three dragons laughed. “Those finger twitches aren’t nerve damage,” Shouto explained, still chuckling. “Izuku likes to write everything down, he was just missing his notebook.”

“The old hag’ll get it,” Katsuki said. “Then we can get it from her and he can write all this shit down before he forgets about it.”

Enji frowned. Mitsuki of the Bakugo clan was known for many things—but tact wasn’t one of them. “Is that a good idea?” he asked the young dragon.

“Oh, the old hag isn’t going to make things worse by going on a rampage,” Katsuki assured Enji. “She knows better than that.” He heard her distinctive wing-beats. “And there she is now,” he said, not at all surprised.

Kaede grimaced. “Too small this tent is for four dragons and three humans. Outside I will be,” she told them.

“Kaede, it’s freezing out there,” Kikyo protested as she watched the old woman limp out. Apparently for Kikyo, being warm was more important than being crowded. Katsuki could relate. The young healer put herself between Shouto and the side of the tent—partially hidden from the flap, Katsuki couldn't help but notice.

The white and yellow dragon popped in through the flap—neatly ripping it off the tent. “Dammit you old hag!” yelled Katsuki as he jumped up. “The purpose of that thing is to keep Deku warm!” 

Mitsuki pulled the flap off her head and looked at it curiously. “And it works?” she asked, puzzled.

“When it’s on right! Fuck!” The young dragon snatched it from her and began weaving it back into the tent. Shouto was impressed until he realized the other dragon was using his power to somehow melt the tent back together. 

Mitsuki ignored her son’s comments as he muttered to himself as she looked around the tent until she spotted the distinctive green hair of her son’s soon-to-be mate. “Izuku,” she said going towards him.

Shouto was suddenly between her and the boy. “He’s still healing, Mitsuki,” he said respectfully—but not letter her any closer. 

Mitsuki sniffed the air in the tent and glanced at Enji, who nodded.  Her eyes widened and she looked again at the sleeping boy on the tent floor. His chest rose and fell in a deep soothing rhythm—and she caught sight of the young woman behind them. She hummed to herself—this tent was about to be no place for a human.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as she jumped over Izuku (careful to not actually touch the boy) to grab the young woman by the arms. “You must be the healer that saved Izuku! Come here!” She pulled the woman into a hug, looked at Shouto and Katsuki, and grinned. “And I’m taking her on a flight!” she told them. Before any of them could react she dodged through the flap ignoring Katsuki’s angry yells.

“What is this about?” Kikyo demanded as left the tent and Enji followed them.

“Well,” Mitsuki said, “that young boy in there is about to go into heat and both his mates are there. I dare say anyone else would get killed.” She chuckled. “There’s a reason dragons go off on their own before mating.”

Kikyo’s eyes widened. “No!” she said looking at the tent in shock. “It’s too soon!”

“Aw, don’t worry about it,” Mitsuki soothed the healer. “That just means the poison wasn’t as bad as you thought.” She saw Enji frown. “Now don’t look like that,” she scolded the other dragon. “You’ve raised him well. _Nothing_ will happen without permission.”

Enji sighed. “Where would you like us to take you and the healer Kaede?” he asked the young healer. “You may be needed—after.”

Mitsuki rolled her eyes. “Everything will be  _fine_ ,” she told him. “They can handle it.”

***

Shouto was concerned by the way that his father and Katsuki’s mother had left the tent, making sure to take Kikyo, the only other person in it, with them. What did they know that the other two didn’t?  He didn’t think anything was off. Katsuki was still fixing the tent flap, muttering to himself. So what was it?

“Kacchan? Shouto?” asked Izuku. Shouto turned to look at Izuku—and froze. Izuku’s eyes were slightly glassy, his cheeks lightly flushed—and Shouto remembered the symptoms. _It’s too soon!_ Shouto’s brain wailed at him. _He’s still on the medicine!_

“Katsuki,” he called harshly as he went to Izuku’s side.

“What?” Katsuki turned—and was suddenly just as close as Shouto was. “Deku,” he said as he gently reached out, “Are you sure?”

Izuku grabbed both of them with the fierce strength that only he possessed. “I’m sure,” he told them firmly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuki thinks she realizes what Naraku wants from Izuku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--this chapter's short. Really short. Started typing the next chapter short. And yes, before anyone asks, dragons have a set of behavior traits that combine bird and cat behaviors. Because I said so, that's why.

Mitsuki growled and her talons punched into the ground beneath her as both women stayed away from the clearly angry dragon. Given the information she had just received, they were worried she’d kill them. “That lying little  _bastard_ !” snarled Mitsuki. The only thing stopping her from flying off to confront her son was the fact that she could feel the waves of pleasure from where she was. If she got any closer she’d awaken the protect-kill instincts every dragon had—and in  _that_ state, Izuku could very well get hurt. 

“I wouldn't call him a liar,” Enji allowed mildly. He kept himself between Mitsuki and the two healers—just in case. “Izuku _was_ poisoned.”

“But the poison,” spat Mitsuki, “wasn’t what was responsible for delaying Izuku’s heat!”

“If he’d had the heat earlier he would have died,” Enji said bluntly. “I got that much from Shouto’s description of Izuku’s condition.” He’d never been prouder of his son than when he realized the boy learned enough self control to fly _away_ from his injured mate to get healers to help.

“Izuku knew the medicine,” Kikyo suddenly said. Mitsuki turned to look at the healer—who gulped and paled. Facing down a dragon who knew you were the only reason his mate was still alive was one thing—facing down a dragon with nor reason to _keep_ you alive was quite another.

Enji stepped between them again, blocking Kikyo’s line of sight. Mitsuki’s, halfway in full dragon form, was quite a bit larger. “Izuku knew the medicine,” he prompted.

Kikyo swallowed again, nervously, but stood firm. “Izuku is familiar with the medicines we use. It’s not the medicine itself that suppresses heat, it’s the combination.”

“Aye,” said Kaede uncertainly.

Kikyo nodded. “It’s possible—given that he was prepping his own medicine—that he changed it himself, to—to  _stop_ blocking his heat.”

Both dragons went deathly still as they considered the implications of this.  For Izuku to suddenly go into heat without warning was one thing—but for him to  _choose_ to go into heat…

“If dragons could do this,” breathed Mitsuki as she shifted back into her half-human form.

“If dragons could do it,” Enji continued, “then we’d never be at the mercy of our instincts again.”

“Think of it!” Mitsuki said excitedly. Her talons kneaded the ground beneath her. “We’d have a whole new level of control!” She turned to the healers, excited now. “Can you do the same for an alpha? Make it so the alpha either can’t smell an omega in heat or not respond to it?” she asked eagerly. If they could—if they could make it work—

Her clan would never have to fear human hunters again.

“ _Is_ it possible?” Enji asked eagerly.

Both healers blinked. “Know not we do,” Kaede said slowly. “Agree to such experiments alphas do not.”

Mitsuki grabbed Enji’s shoulder, her eyes sparkling with excitement that was a twin for Izuku’s earlier. “Enji,” she said excitedly, “Izuku wants to be a  _dragon_ doctor! If he’s already experimenting with suppressants, there’s no reason he can’t experiment on alphas too!” She burst out laughing with relief—and then quickly sobered. Was this the reason Naraku wanted Izuku dead?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katsuki and Shouto go to show Izuku around the valley they chose--and come across a few surprises of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy sappy fluff. Stupid cramps. Stupid OTCs. More story.

“And here it is,” Katsuki said proudly as he hovered over the valley. He’d been practicing his hover since the healers had told him a smooth journey was better for Izuku—and his hover had gotten a _lot_ smoother. Deku’s hair barely rustled in the wind.

“Wow,” breathed Izuku as he looked over the valley with shining eyes. A river cut through it in the middle with a waterfall rushing down one of the mountains. There were trees of all kinds in the forest part—even trees that weren’t native to this part of the world.

Katsuki hoped anxiously that Izuku was impressed. He didn’t go through all that work transplanting trees and figuring out how to keep them alive for  _himself_ , after all. He looked at Izuku’s neck, the bonding mark still raised and red, and felt both proud and ashamed of it. Proud—because with that mark the whole world knew that Izuku had a mate. Ashamed—because it looked like it hurt.

Shouto hovered near the two of them and Katsuki barely refrained a smirk at the other dragon’s choppy movement. Then again—it wasn’t normal for a dragon to practice flying smoothly. “Do you like it?” asked Shouto—just as nervous as Katsuki was and for the same reasons.

Izuku startled Katsuki by lunging so he could hug both of his alphas at the same time. “It’s amazing!” he burbled happily.

A knot of apprehension that Katsuki hadn’t even noticed he was carrying relaxed at the announcement. They’d wanted to bring Izuku here  _before_ the heat, they really had, but everything had happened too suddenly for that. “Let’s get the cave fixed up,” Katsuki said as Izuku resumed his grip on him and stopped hovering to glide into the cave that he and Shouto had carved out for their living quarters. 

When they got to the cave, Katsuki and Shouto stared at the overhaul it had gotten. When they’d left it had just been a stone room that they’d assumed Izuku would be responsible for decorating. After all, only Izuku knew where he’d be most comfortable with his stuff. Where he’d want his books (because of course the books had to be there), where he’d want the bed, things like that.

The cave now had a  _wooden_ floor. Ironwood even, so it was withstanding the dragon claws just fine. One side of the cave was covered in shelves—none of them taller than Izuku was high—and each shelf had either books or notebooks on it. Katsuki was almost certain that the books were in not particular order—most dragons (and the room had clearly been designed by dragons) couldn't read. What was the point in learning when first they had to learn how to hold the book to keep from ripping it apart? The other side of the cave had a huge wooden bed, complete with piles and piles of blankets that Katsuki dimly realized were for Izuku to use to make a nest. There was even a writing desk (and where had that come from?) near the shelves.

“Look!” Izuku cried from another room—a room that he and Shouto hadn’t made. With a glance at each other they followed their mate into the room—and stared. The walls in this one were covered with soft hangings and the floor had masses of thick furs and tanned hides—that smelled suspiciously like Bakugo dragons—and an odd wooden thing. Izuku reached out and rocked the wooden thing and then grinned up at his two alphas. “Mom sent the cradle I made!”

Shouto got down to inspect the wooden thing. “You made this?” he asked as he looked at the carvings.

“It took weeks to get the carvings done properly,” Izuku said proudly as he rocked it. “Look!” He pointed to the taller part of the cradle. “This mountain,” he said pointing to one that had both lava and snow on it, “is Shouto, this one is Katsuki,” his hand moved to the mountain next to it that had both lava and a thunder cloud over it. The two mountains were repeated over and over, along with the different phases of the moon.

“What’s this?” Shouto asked, gently touching the moon.

Izuku flushed, but answered. “It’s from a fairy tale Mom used to tell me,” he said. “Long ago,” he repeated touching the carved moons himself, “darkness covered the land, hiding all the people. It kept them separated from each other, and from their mates and children.” Both dragons listened intently to what he said. Neither of them had heard the tale before. “So the moon decided to light the darkness, in order to banish it from people's hearts so they could find their homes, their mates, and their children. But,” he added moving between the phases, “the darkness did not just quit and go away, for it wanted the happiness of the people. So it began to eat the moon—bit by bit. However, the moon was far too powerful for the darkness to hide forever, so after the darkness swallowed the moon, it had to spit it back out. Bit by bit, just like it had eaten the moon. And when the moon was once again whole it told the people not to worry. By its light it promised they would never again be truly alone.”

Something inside Katsuki just melted at the story. The way the cradle was carved, the moon would always be over the baby, keeping it safe with the promise that it would never be alone. Before he embarrassed himself by crying he looked down at the carved foot of the cradle. Looking at the carved dragon wings he traced a familiar scar—and then looked at the same scar on his wing. “Are these our wings?” he asked looking at the carvings.

Shouto cleared his throat suspiciously and moved to where he could look at the wings. “I wasn’t sure I was remembering them right,” Izuku said, blushing even harder.

“Wings for us,” Shouto murmured, “and books for you?” he asked looking at his mate with clarification. 

Katsuki looked up to see that Izuku was blushing. “Ah, well,” he stammered, “I thought it would be good if the baby was surrounded by its parents. At least until it outgrows the cradle.”

While Shouto and Katsuki had been getting the valley they had picked out ready for Izuku, Izuku had been getting ready for children.  Katsuki reached out and hugged the boy close. “I love you,” he said burying his head into Izuku’s neck, right over the bond mark he’d made.

Shouto reached out and pulled Izuku towards him, burying his head into the bond mark  _he’d_ made. “Me too,” he said.

Izuku chuckled and disengaged himself from both dragons. “Come on!” he said excitedly. “I want to see  _all_ of it!” He danced off and both Katsuki and Shouto chuckled at the antics as he ran up the stairs (that the two of them  _were_ responsible for).

“You know,” Katsuki confided in Shouto, “I can’t even be mad at the old hag for arranging this. Not when he’s this happy.”

Shouto grinned back at Katsuki. “Wait until he sees the seedling beds,” he told the other dragon.

“Are you guys coming?” Izuku demanded from the upper level.

“We’re coming!” Katsuki called out as he strode up the stairs (also covered with ironwood). 

Izuku was ecstatic over the carved hallows for dragon patients that had enough room for them to spread injured wings (wing injuries being the most common dragons got), even if the dragons were in full dragon form. There were even smaller hallows in case the wounded (dragons didn’t get sick very often) dragons were in half-human form. 

Once at the top Izuku found the surprise that Katsuki and Shouto had carefully prepared—a slide to take him back to the bottom. It didn’t occur to either of them to warn him that the slide ended in a pool—at least, not until after Izuku had launched himself down it.

Luckily, he wasn’t angry at the two dragons, and laughed instead as he pulled himself out of the water.  He grinned as the water plastered his clothes to his body—showing every. Single. Muscle. “That was amazing!” he told them.

Both dragons had to shuffle back as Izuku, not currently interested in sex, continued to run around the new home. “Perhaps,” Shouto reflected as he kept to an odd, half-curled state, “we should think about adopting pants.”

Katsuki snorted. “They don’t make pants for dragons,” he said irritably. 

Izuku suddenly popped back into the room and grabbed each of them by the hand. “Come on!” he said excitedly as he pulled them. He didn’t notice that the shirt currently plastered to him was— _plastered_ to him and showed way too much for his alphas’ comfort. 

_Of course,_ Katsuki mused to himself,  _it might be possible to to get pants custom made for dragons_ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you didn't think the cradle was going to be important, did you? :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little more about the dragon clans--and about Katsuki and Shouto in relation to other dragons power wise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter today, work tonight, don't know when I'll be able to upload again. Still, not a bad start for just having posted the first chapter a couple days ago, right?

“Help!” cried one of the dragons winging into the valley. His veins chilled with fear with the scents from both Todoroki and Bakugo in his nose—but he’d been told this was where he could go. He’d been told this was a _safe_ place, a _neutral_ place where dragons could go for help no matter what clan they were from. The pink dragon whimpered and dropped a few feet before the red dragon could catch her. 

“Got you.” The dragon—mostly white with tiny red flecks, got under the pink dragon’s side to help support her. “Izuku!” the new dragon called to cliff riddled with caves. “Incoming in Cave four!” She turned to the two dragons as she led and half supported the pink dragon to the cave in question. “What happened?” she asked.

“Our chief has gone insane!” whispered the red dragon. He glanced behind them, afraid of pursuit.

The white dragon chuckled. “No one would dare attack this place,” she told him. “And if they did—trust me, the alphas guarding it would kill them.” The three of them landed in the cave as a head of the wildest green hair that the red dragon had ever seen walked into the cave and towards them. “Izuku!” the white dragon called. “They need help.”

The red dragon stared as the creature came closer it. It was both human and omega—which was confusing. In his clan omegas weren’t supposed stray far from their alphas, or their parents if they hadn’t mated yet. Why was this one alone? He snorted in confusion and mantled his wings nervously, despite the size of the cave. 

“Calm down,” the green haired wonder ordered (an _omega_? Ordering an _alpha_?). “You’re agitating her,” it added gesturing to the panting pink dragon. True enough, the pink dragon was shifting in agitation. 

“Calm down Mina,” the red dragon ordered gently, knowing the pink dragon was going to be in too much pain to listen. “You’re safe.”

“Mina, is it?” asked the green haired human. “Mina,” he said addressing the pink dragon, “my name is Izuku. I’m going to try to help you, but I need to know what’s wrong.”

“What happened?” the white dragon asked.

The red one gripped the stone floor of the cave nervously. He tried not to mantle or do anything that might make the pink one worse. “There are these new plants in our clan’s territory,” he said warily.

The human’s head snapped towards him. “The new poisonous ones?” he demanded.

The red dragon nodded. “He—our clan chief—ordered Mina to eat one.”

“Why would he do that?” demanded the white dragon.

The human was focused on something else. “When did she eat it? How long ago?”

The red dragon thought back frantically. Clearly this was something the human needed to know. “Half a day ago,” he said.

“And she’s been in this form the whole time?” demanded the human.

“Izuku,” said the white dragon warningly.

The human ignored her as the red dragon nodded. “Well,” said the human brightly, “this will be easy.”

The white dragon brought her wings foreword to cover herself as the human forced open the pink dragon’s mouth and—stuck his hand in? In a moment the pink dragon’s stomach heaved and everything spewed over the human.

“Katsuki is going to kill me for this,” muttered the white dragon.

“Oh, it’s just a little vomit,” the human said dismissively as he wiped his face. The pink dragon had stopped moaning, but was still trembling. “I’ll go get cleaned up. Fuyumi, feed her charcoal as soon as she wakes up enough to eat.”

“That’s just going to make her puke more!” protested the white dragon.

The human paused on the stairs and grinned back at her. “That’s the idea. We don’t want her absorbing the poison any more than she has. And after she’s thrown it back up,” the human continued, “get her to shift to full dragon form. I’ll let Kacchan know we need more meat.”

“What did I ever do to you?” muttered the white dragon.

“Volunteered!” the human said cheerfully as he walked out of the cave. 

The white dragon groaned and rolled her eyes as she stalked over to a pit full of black lumps. “Like I had a choice,” she muttered. “With both Katsuki and Father getting nervous about Shouto’s trip to Council.” She grabbed a handful of the black lumps and stalked back to the pink dragon—who showed no signs of waking up. “In a way,” she offered to the red dragon, “I  _hope_ you’re being followed. A good fight will help Katsuki settle down—he’s been on edge since Shouto left, thought Lightning strike you if you  _hint_ he might be missing him.” The pink dragon moaned and opened her eyes. “Here,” said the white dragon bending down. “Eat this.”

The pink dragon didn’t have the strength to resist the order. She ate until a black line of drool formed down her chin—and then she threw up again. The white dragon held her up and gently rubbed the center of her back until she was finished.

“Good dragon,” murmured the white dragon as the pink one whimpered. “Now, I know this is going to hurt, but you need to go big.”

The red dragon frowned—but said nothing. Why would regaining full dragon form hurt her? It didn’t make sense. The whole situation didn’t make sense.

The pink dragon arched, stretched, and regained her form with a loud whine. The red dragon whirled to face a new threat as thumping wings  announced another dragon arriving. A yellow and white dragon, in full form, made its way to the cave and the red dragon shrank back at the sheer amount of  _power_ in the newcomer.  _Far_ more powerful than his clan chief—and look what his chief had done.

The white and yellow dragon tossed in three huge mammals before turning into its own half-human appearance. The pink dragon didn’t even hesitate—didn’t even wait for an order. She tore into the fresh meat devouring everything until nothing but a smudge of blood was left on the floor. The pink dragon, her golden horns glowing slightly again, sighed, and fell asleep.

The white dragon looked at the white and yellow one. “So, Izuku’s got you feeding patients now?” she teased.

The red dragon pressed himself against the cave walls. How could she joke with something—something so  _strong_ ! He could easily crush her and not think twice about it! It wouldn't even be an effort!

“Shut up,” ordered the dragon. “I didn’t want him carrying those carcasses up here—not in _his_ condition.”

The white one snickered. “Has  _he_ noticed yet?”

“No, and I swear your brother better get back here before he does,” snarled the white and yellow dragon. The red dragon whimpered and pressed even farther back into the cave wall. The dragon eyed him irritably. “Oh, _stop_ cringing,” he ordered. “I’m not going to bite you!” His nostrils flared and he turned to the open part of the cave before grinning. “The company, on the other hand,” he said as winged out of the cave.

“Remember when I said no one would dare attack this valley?” asked the white dragon. The red dragon looked at her in terror. “See, Izuku, the human you met earlier, is bonded to two dragons.” The red dragon blinked in surprise—he’d heard of alphas bonding multiple omegas, but never the other way around. “And the other dragon, my brother, is just as strong as Katsuki.” She gave a satisfied little hum as she turned to watch the battle. “They’ll never know what hit them,” she said with satisfaction.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see a little of what's going on from Katsuki's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter of a chapter, but the next one covers what's happening in the Council.

Katsuki glared at the two dragons in front of him, one gold and one black. They were just a few wing-beats away from trespassing over the valley—and neither of them were sick or injured. He smirked. Well, they weren’t injured  _yet_ . They  _would_ be, if they tried to get any closer.

“Bakugo Alpha,” the gold one said warily.

“Aizawa Alpha,” Katsuki responded, showing that he could identify what clan they were from just as easily as they could identify him.

The gold dragon cleared his throat. “Bakugo,” he said respectfully, “two of our clan just went into your valley.”

“One of them is injured very badly,” Katsuki replied with confidence. The two of these dragons together would be no match for him. Their powers were nothing compared to his. “In case you didn’t hear,” he added with a grin, “this valley is host to the first ever dragon doctor and is neutral territory.” He also had no problem showing off his superior ability to hover—they might not recognize it for what it was, but he knew.

The black one growled. “Who says it’s neutral?” she demanded.

“I do,” Katsuki answered with a grin. “And unless you _want_ to fight it out—well, you’ll just have to listen.”

“Are you willing to make an enemy out of Aizawa?” demanded the gold one, holding the black one back.

Katsuki’s grin widened. “Depends,” he told them. “Is Aizawa willing to make an enemy out of  _me_ ?” He didn’t mention Shouto—he didn’t have to.

The gold one reached out and touched the black one. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go report back.”

Katsuki, sensing that he was about to be deprived of a  _much_ needed fight, growled and both dragons turned tail and flew away as fast as they could. Katsuki tensed. He  _could_ follow them, beat the shit out of them, and return but—but that would leave the valley undefended while Shouto was gone. And technically—they were running away. He didn’t  _need_ to go after them, much as he wanted to.

He growled again and whirled, heading back into the valley. He couldn't help but growl again when he saw Izuku in one of the seedbeds, harvesting. The whole  _point_ of delivering the food to the injured dragon was to keep Izuku from straining himself!

He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn't wait for Shouto to get home. He was finding it difficult to both guard the valley  _and_ keep an eye on Izuku. When would that Council be over anyway?

He dropped behind Izuku and saw the green-haired boy putting leaves into a woven basket. He was only taking one leaf from each of the plants in front of him, and only the largest  from each plant. “What are these for?” he asked looking at the plants curiously. The underside of the plant leaves had thin hairs that made them look fuzzy.

“Clotting blood,” Izuku said as he picked another leaf and examined it for damage before putting it in the basket. “Lining a bandage with these will make a wound stop bleeding, even if it’s in the wing.”

“Like what’s-her-name did, when that idiot shot a crossbow through my wing,” Katsuki said looking at the scar. 

Izuku looked up and smiled. “Exactly,” he said. He got up and grabbed the basket before kissing Katsuki’s cheek. “Only if you get hurt this time  _I_ can fix it.”

Katsuki grabbed the light basket. “I’ve got this. Where do you want it?” Izuku chuckled as he led the way to the cave that had been set up for drying plants. Neither Shouto nor Katsuki had realized that Izuku would need one (and they’d felt stupid about it), but they’d been more than willing to make a new cave just for drying the plants that Izuku needed once the human told them what he needed. Once in the small cave he helped Izuku lay the leaves on drying racks that the human had made. “Where to now?” he asked as the two of them stepped out of the cave.

“I thought I’d take a nap,” Izuku admitted. His stamina still wasn’t quite what it had been before getting injured, although he was almost back to normal.

“Okay,” Katsuki said. Then, before Izuku could react, he picked the human up and took off towards the living cave.

“Kacchan!” protested Izuku. “I can walk!”

“This is faster,” Katsuki said simply before landing on the ironwood.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Council is divided between people who support our three lads and who are wary of the union.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, work has slowed things down a bit. (Only one chapter a day! Can you imagine?) I can't promise another chapter tomorrow, because life is such. Still, I hope everyone is enjoying.

Shouto looked around the room warily. He knew what the Council was  _for_ , every dragon knew that, and most of the humans. The purpose of the Council was to have the leaders of different clans and kingdoms come together in the hopes of smoothing out conflict before another war broke out. He wasn’t entirely certain why  _he’d_ been invited (actually, both him and Katsuki had been invited, but no way were they leaving Izuku alone at this point). Technically, he was still part of the Todoroki clan, and Katsuki was still part of Bakugo. There was no reason for the two of them to have been invited. He also didn’t like the timing—he and Katsuki had  been mated to Izuku for less than a year.

He also found it odd that the mere “adviser” Naraku was included in this meeting. The way he understood it the meeting would only be for the leaders of the clans and the leaders of the kingdoms. Inko and Toshinari were in the room—but they weren’t looking well. Queen Inko had a placid, glassy stare and an eye that kept twitching uncontrollably and King Toshinari—King Toshinari was almost unrecognizable. The formerly muscular man had shrunk into a mere skeleton of his former self and the strangest thing was how no one seemed to notice.

Well, none of the  _humans_ attending noticed. “What do you think happened to those two?”  Shota, clan chief of the Aizawa, asked him.

Shouto’s gaze tracked to the adviser Naraku, standing behind the two. “Perhaps,” he said as he watched the man, “it is merely a human illness and it is something they’ll recover from in time.”

Shota followed his gaze and sighed. “And perhaps,” Shota said, “it’s a fatal one and it will be Itsuki in the next Council.”

“I think we’ve been sitting around here doing nothing but gossip quite long enough,” a tart voice informed them. Shouto looked to see Queen Kaguya glaring under her brightly painted eyelids at the room. She snapped her fan shut and pointed at Shouto. “You,” she said just as irritably, “bonded with a human along with another dragon.”

Shouto blinked. He hadn’t been aware his mating with Izuku and Katsuki was common knowledge—but of course it would be. Izuku was a prince, after all, and humans were curiously attached to their royalty. “We did. Second Prince Izuku of the Midoriya Kingdom and  Katsuki of Clan Bakugo.” There was an odd murmur in the room that he couldn't quite pinpoint. He wasn’t sure if it was negative or positive—just that it was.

Queen Inko spoke up. “The three of them have been promised to each other since they were children,” she said mildly. “And I can’t help but wonder—why is it being brought up? Given that this is nothing new?”

“I believe the other members of royalty would like some—assurance that the second prince is safe, Majesty,” Naraku said swiftly.

So  _he_ was the cause of this. Shouto watched him warily. If he was influencing other royal kingdoms, then he was a much bigger threat than they’d thought.

Queen Inko’s gaze swept the room with irritation. “They  _have_ assurance. Or,” she added eyes flashing angrily as her grip tightened on the arms of the chair she was sitting in, “does the word of a fellow Queen mean nothing?”

Not a single one of the humans in the room met the woman’s gaze, but Shouto caught the look on Naraku’s face. For a split second, before the mask slipped into place, Naraku looked frustrated, almost cheated.

Shouto’s eyes narrowed at his opponent. Izuku had long since been removed from the man’s disturbing influence. Why was he still trying to get Izuku? If he just wanted the second prince out of the way—well, he already had that. What was the reason?

Queen Kaguya sighed. “You  _say_ that Inko,” she said, “but the last human to bond with a dragon was a male, so many generations ago that we can’t separate myth from fact anymore. And,” she added with a glare of her own around the room, “Izuku was truly a delight to be around. Dragons are not known for their—delicacy, and we all want to make sure that Izuku is doing well.” The queen pinned Shouto with a glare of her own. “Well?” she demanded.

Shouto blinked in surprise. “When I left,” he said carefully, “Izuku was preparing medicine for storage.”

“Ah, yes,” Queen Kaguya said. “That bizarre— _dragon doctor_ thing of is. Makes slightly more sense now, to be honest.”

“I told you it made sense at the time,” Queen Inko said.

“You did. Well, I dug up some healer related books in my library and brought them here for him. You can take them with you.”

Shouto realized this was Queen Kaguya’s way of letting the others know that she supported the three. He bowed, slightly to her. He wasn’t sure he did it right, but they seemed pleased. “Thank you, Majesty,” he said politely. “I’ll make sure Izuku knows you were thinking of him.” She flicked her fan at him and hid her face behind it. He wasn’t certain, but he thought she might have been embarrassed.

“Now hold on Kaguya,” said another of the humans. “That doesn’t answer anything. I mean no offense,” he assured the dragons, “but dragons and humans are entirely different, and I for one would feel better if a human were to check on the young prince and make sure he’s doing well.”

Only because Shouto had kept an eye on Naraku for the whole meeting did he see the smirk on the man’s face.  So that meant that he was more than willing for Izuku to make a journey to human lands again. The man was still trying to get his hands on Shouto’s mate.

“Do you have a human in mind?” Shouto asked.

There was silence for a moment as the others, including the dragons, stared at him. “What do you mean?” asked Queen Kaguya, looking interested.

“There is absolutely no way either Katsuki or I are allowing our mate to travel in his condition,” Shouto said flatly.

Queen Inko clapped her hands. “That’s wonderful!” she beamed out at the room. “When’s it due?”

Shouto winced. “Izuku hasn’t realized he’s pregnant yet,” he told her.

“He hasn’t? But he—oh.” Queen Inko did something that Shouto had never heard before—she _snickered_. He stared at her.

Queen Kaguya rapped her fan against the table for his attention. “That is all very well,” she said tartly, “but you were saying?”

“Yes Majesty,” Shouto said. “I was saying that if you have a human in mind to look in on Izuku—I wouldn’t mind transporting the human to the nest and back again.”

“You would allow a strange human in your nest?” demanded the human who had spoken earlier. Shouto didn’t recognize the portly, balding man.

Mitsuki put a hand on Shouto’s shoulder. “Due to Izuku’s desire to be a dragon doctor,” she told the assembled, “Shouto and Katsuki picked nest the size of a clan territory. It has been, by dragon law, established as neutral territory that any dragon can enter—if they have need. What Shouto is saying, is that if you truly  _need_ a human to check on Izuku, there is space.”

The portly man’s lips curled up. “And the dragons support this—this  _hobby_ of the prince’s?”

Enji strode up. “ _All_ the dragons support it,” he said firmly. He showed the room a tight smile. “After all, no one has ever wanted to be a dragon doctor before. We get injured just like any other race.”

There was a moment of silence before Queen Kaguya spoke up. “I think Kagome would be a good choice.”

This made the portly man recoil any more. “Kagome? That—child of the well?  _Her_ ?”

“Indeed,” Queen Kaguya said firmly, reasonably. “She is omega, as is Izuku. She’s even mated, so there is no chance she’ll disrupt the recent bonds.”

“Her mate isn’t even _human_!” protested the portly man.

“Even better,” said Queen Kaguya calmly. “Who better to know if anything is wrong between a human and nonhuman mate than an omega _in_ a relationship with a nonhuman?”

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn't you?” snarled the man in a way that made Shouto study him. The man was shaking, sweating and—afraid? Why would he be afraid? “You want to ignore the whole issue!”

“Are you claiming that Kagome would _lie_?” demanded Queen Kaguya, her voice low and threatening.

The portly man paled and leaned back in his seat. “N—no. Of course not.”

Queen Kaguya smiled again. “Then it’s settled,” she said firmly. “Shouto, you need to go tell your mate you’re expecting company. I realize,” she added, “that you’re not familiar with humans, but if you get company and you  _don’t_ tell him first, well, he’s not going to be happy.” Her smile grew to a smirk. “Especially not in his condition.” She looked around. “Is that all? Good. Now, Midoriya—why are you salting your borders?”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Inu-Yasha and Kagome!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that thing about only one chapter today--I lied. Sorry. (Not sorry.) It's also shorter than the last chapter--but it's to be expected at this point. When you're on a roll...
> 
> Quick recap for those who don't remember: Kagome came from the future (why she's referred to as "the child of the well"), and her bag is literally twice her size. Things I changed: Sango and Miroku got together *way* faster (we all saw it coming), and before Naraku's death. Obviously--Naraku is still alive in this AU.

Inu-Yasha tried not to glare at the huge bag that Kagome was packing. It reminded him too much of the times that she would go home—even though her home was now with him. “I don’t like it,” he growled, his pointed dog ears twitching with agitation. He sat firmly on the bed, hands by his ankles as she packed.

“It will be _fine_ ,” Kagome reassured him as she tried to make sure that she had everything she absolutely needed. Her period was coming soon, so she’d need to make sure she had pads—or those absorbent rags that people here used. She frowned as she rode out a wave of homesickness. She made her choice some time ago to stay _here_ , with Inu-Yasha.

“Weren’t you listening?” Inu-Yasha asked. “ _Naraku_ was at that meeting!”

“But he’s _not_ at the destination,” Kagome protested absently. Should she pack her old uniform? She didn’t really fit into it anymore—but there might be something formal happening. She pulled it out of the chest and put it in the bag.

Inu-Yasha’s ears briefly lay against his head before pricking back towards her. “I don’t like the thought of you going alone,” he muttered.

“I’m not _going_ alone,” Kagome replied. Was she going to need the tool kit? Maybe—her mother had packed it for a reason. She put it in the bag.

“What do you mean?” asked Inu-Yasha. He scuttled to the edge of the bed, still watching her.

She turned and faced him with her arms crossed. “I  _mean_ ,” she said firmly, “that you’re going with me!”

Inu-Yasha put both feet on the floor and looked at her, ears and nose twitching. He couldn't doubt her when she said it like that. “How?” he asked curiously as she added more stuff into that huge bag of hers. He’d once tried to lift that bag—it was heavier than it looked. He’d never figured out how she could be so fragile and so strong at the same time.

She sighed. “Honestly Inu-Yasha, you can be so dense!” she told him irritably. “These are  _dragons_ .”

Inu-Yasha nodded—he already knew that. He could see he still wasn’t getting the point though as that vein on Kagome’s head began to become visible.  It only did that when she was getting angry.

“If I tell these _dragons_ that I don’t feel safe traveling without _my_ mate, they’ll have to bring you too.” She stomped her foot and whirled to glare at the bag.

“That makes sense,” Inu-Yasha admitted.

“Of course it makes sense. And don’t forget your sword,” she added as she closed the top of the bag. “There isn’t room in here for it.”

Part of Inu-Yasha wanted to know what all Kagome had in the bag—but the rest of him knew better than to ask. “Of course!” he told her.

The door to their house (Kagome had insisted on a door when it was built) opened and Sango came in, her most recent pup in a holder on her chest. “Kagome, do you have a moment?” she asked, looking worried.

“For you? Of course!” she told the other woman. She turned and glared at Inu-Yasha. “Go play with Miroku,” she ordered.

Inu-Yasha would have protested—but the last time he stayed to eavesdrop the two had been talking about things that he strongly felt that men should  _not_ know about. He slipped out the door and practically ran to Miroku—who was bouncing one of the pups. Until those two had gotten together he’d never known humans so desperate to have a full  _litter_ of children. Inu-Yasha didn’t know much about children—but he knew there was a reason humans had them one at a time.

“Puppy!” cried one of the kids leaping on his back and grabbing for his ears.

“What? No! Let go!” he demanded as he tried to shake off the kid without hurting it. Suddenly more hands grabbed at his robe and whirled around desperately. He wanted them off—but he didn’t want to hurt him. Miroku started laughing as he clutched the pup he was holding to him. “Fuck you Miroku!” snarled Inu-Yasha. “Help me!”

“There there,” Sango said as she pulled the children off him one at a time. “Children, Inu-Yasha is not a toy!”

“But Mom,” cried one of the kids piteously.

Inu-Yasha’s ears went back in panic. How did Sango, Miroku, and Kagome deal with this lot? They were overwhelming—but only to him.

“No buts!” said Sango firmly. She looked around, hands on her hips. “Have you all finished your chores?” she demanded. Suddenly the assorted children scattered.

“How,” asked Inu-Yasha, “did the two of you manage to have so many?” Only practice allowed him to dodge the giant boomerang she carried—even still. 

Miroku carefully stayed out of reach as he continued soothing the baby. “Now Sango,” he said reasonably, “he didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

Inu-Yasha was more confused than ever. “How  _did_ it sound?” he demanded—and saw the naked fury on Sango’s face.

Kagome was walking up and he hid behind her. Sango wouldn't hurt  _Kagome_ . Kagome looked around at Miroku, the children who were trying to prove they were studiously doing their chores, and finally at Inu-Yasha hiding behind her. She reached back and awkwardly pet him on the head. “It’s okay,” she told him. “Sango’s not really mad.”

“Not mad?” demanded Sango, face suffused in anger making Inu-Yasha cringe more. 

“Of course Sango’s not mad,” Kagome said, talking to Inu-Yasha like he was the one who spoke. “She knows just as well as I do that you were practically raised in the wild and getting mad at you for something you can’t control is stupid.”

Sango heaved a huge sigh and put the boomerang back in its holder on her back—without disturbing the kid on her front. “You have a point.”

Kagome grinned grimly. “ _Believe_ me, I know,” she said.

Inu-Yasha scurried back. Kagome  _sounded_ angry—but she didn’t smell angry. She walked up to Sango, took the baby in the sling, and then the two of them walked off talking and he sat there, ears twitching.

_I can’t wait for the dragons to get here_ , he thought.  _At least I’ll be able to understand_ them _._


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse of life back at the cave before Shouto returns with news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a roll and underslept, so--constructive criticism please. :)

“So,” Izuku pressed the red dragon, “what’s your name?”

The red dragon looked up at Katsuki—behind Izuku and glaring—and shuddered, but didn’t answer. Katsuki growled and the red dragon winced. “Ei—Eijiro.” The red dragon mantled his wings nervously.

Izuku wrote the name down in the notebook he was holding.  His first two dragon patients ever were Eijiro and Mina from the dragon clan Aizawa. Mina—well, her problem was fairly obvious. Still, the sated sleep she was getting was the best medicine she could get right now. Dragons could heal a lot of damage while sleeping—if they were full first, and three bison should be more than enough to fill a dragon of Mina’s size.

Eijiro though—he was a tougher problem to solve. He was both underweight (he had learned from Mina that both dragons were the same age) and excessively nervous. That wasn’t normal—especially not for an alpha like he was. “Eijiro,” he said with a smile to the dragon in front of him, “tell me about your eating habits.”

Eijiro’s wings fluttered so hard he left the ground for a moment. He swallowed. “Eating habits?” he asked.

“What animals you eat, how often you hunt, that sort of thing,” Izuku said as he made a notation about the question. Maybe Eijiro was just shy, and needed time to open up. 

“I don’t know what they’re called,” Eijiro said warily.

“That’s okay,” Izuku said brightly. “Half the time Kacchan know what the animals _he_ kills are called either.”

“They’re called meat,” Katsuki growled. 

“They are for you!” Izuku replied cheerfully. He turned his attention back to his patient. “So?” he prompted. “What does the meat you most frequently hunt look like?”

“Fuzzy,” said Eijiro, still watching Katsuki. “Curly fur. Jump insanely high.”

Izuku wrote  _mountain goat_ in the notebook. “How often do you eat it?” he asked. 

“Twice a moon cycle,” Eijiro said warily.

_Once every two weeks_ , Izuku noted in his book. That was about normal, for an average dragon. Katsuki and Shouto ate more—much more—but they used more energy than most dragons. Most dragons had to use energy to  _use_ their powers—Katsuki and Shouto had to use energy to  _not_ use them. “Your meals are too lean.”

“What?” Eijiro stopped staring at Katsuki to stare at Izuku instead.

“Mountain goats, the meat you eat,” Izuku explained, “are very lean. They don’t have a thick layer of fat, not like animals like bison do. Your body needs the fat.”

“Bison are too big for me,” Eijiro protested.

“Not really. You’d cut back on eating, from twice a moon cycle to once, but it would be better for you. And I’m not saying you need to eat bison all the time,” Izuku added. The red dragon probably ate mountain goat because it liked the taste of mountain goat—or the chase. He’d noticed that a lot of dragons equated the chase of prey with the taste of prey. Maybe for them it _was_ the same thing. He made a few more notes and closed the book. “Thank you!” he told Eijiro.

The red dragon jumped and stared, eyes wide at him. No, at Katsuki behind him. Well, if the red dragon was worried about Katsuki, then leaving with Katsuki should fix the problem. 

He was sorry that Eijiro was nervous around his mate, but Izuku wasn’t going to tell Katsuki not to follow him. He could tell that Katsuki was more on edge without Shouto nearby, and if being near Izuku meant comfort then he wasn’t going to be the one to take it away. Izuku put the pen (a glass contraption his brother had invented and his mother had sent for him to write with) in a pouch built into the notebook for it and stood up. “See you later!” he said waving to the red dragon as he went down the stairs, Katsuki following him while still glaring at Eijiro.

“I _can_ carry you,” Katsuki said as Izuku walked down the stairs towards the home cave.

“I _can_ walk,” Izuku replied with a grin. He turned to say something else, slipped, and would have fallen if Katsuki hadn’t caught him. 

Katsuki put him firmly on the step and said, “You  _can_ , huh?” He smirked.

Izuku quickly grabbed him, kissed him, and started walking down again. “As long as I watch where I’m going,” he said cheerfully.

Katsuki stared in shock for a moment, and then growled. “Deku,” he said descending the steps after his mate, “you’re going to be the death of me.”

“I hope not,” Izuku answered absently. “I prefer you alive.” Once in the living cave he put his notebook on the desk and stared at it in thought for a moment. As different as dragons were from humans, there were some striking similarities. Both species reacted to ingested poison in almost the exact same way—despite the fact that the average dragon could eat an entire bison in one sitting. Izuku still hadn’t figured out why, when eating a bison and then turning back into half-human form, the dragon’s stomach didn’t explode when actual medicine levels stayed exactly the same.

“It might be a good idea,” Izuku mused, “to start a herd of bison in the valley to feed injured dragons.” He looked over his shoulder at Katsuki, who was watching the mouth of the cave. “What do you think?”

“I think they’ll get too tame in this valley. No dragon wants to eat tame food; it doesn’t taste right,” Katsuki said. “Why?”

“I don’t want to deplete the natural resources by hunting too much,” Izuku explained. 

“Hmm. Not a bad thought,” admitted Katsuki. “I’ll have to ask the old hag if she’ll let us have a valley for that. Good, he’s home.”

Izuku looked at the cave entrance in time to see Shouto glide in. “Shouto!” he called happily. 

“Good timing.” Katsuki said as he walked past the other dragon. He bumped Shouto’s shoulder with his fist. “Your turn. I’m going hunting.”

“Don’t forget food for the patients!” Izuku said.

“Not fucking likely,” Katsuki growled before spreading his wings and taking off out of the cave. 

Shouto continued in and hugged Izuku, cherishing the feel of his mate after so long. “What did he mean, ‘my turn’?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” said Izuku, sounding puzzled. He nuzzled Shouto’s neck, inhaling the scent of his missing mate. Even if he hadn’t been on as edge as Katsuki, he had missed the other dragon. He looked up at Shouto from within the ring of his arms and asked, “How was the Council?”

“Queen Kaguya sent some books for you,” Shouto replied thoughtfully.

“That was nice of her!” Izuku had always liked his “Aunt” Kaguya. She hadn’t ever understood why he wanted to be a dragon doctor, but unlike other people she’d never lectured his parents about allowing him to study something so “unsuitable” either. Maybe, now that she knew he was mated to two dragons, she understood a little better, and this was her way of supporting that. 

Izuku knew he probably should have gone to the Council meeting—but the thought of seeing Naraku again (and given what he knew of the thing, Naraku was  _going_ to be there) scared him. Besides, if he  _had_ gone, what would have happened to Mina? It never would have occurred to her to purge the poisoned plants out of her stomach, because dragons didn’t view puking as an option. (Katsuki and Shouto did—but they  had grown up around Izuku and, no matter what some people thought, Izuku was completely human.)

“And they’re sending a human here to check on you,” Shouto added.

Izuku froze. He knew he couldn't have heard that right. “What?” he asked looking up at his mate in panic.

“The council was worried about you, given that you’ve mated to two dragons, and they’re sending a human to check on you,” Shouto repeated.

Izuku shrieked as he looked around at their living cave. “Shouto!” he yelled, “we have nowhere to  _put_ a guest!”

“What are you talking about?” Shouto asked curiously. “We have three empty caves—”

“That were designed for dragons!” Izuku jumped backwards and ran his hands through his hair nervously. “Humans aren’t dragons! They have different needs!”

“It’s not a problem,” insisted Shouto. “We still have that huge tent—”

Izuku glared at his mate. “We can’t,” he grit out through clenched teeth, “put someone the Council is sending in a  _tent_ .” Not to mention, that tent was the one where the three of them had officially become mates. He wasn’t an alpha, but the thought of anyone else spending time in it made him want to growl.

Shouto took a step back from his angry mate, uncertain of why Izuku was angry. What was so different between a human visitor and the host of dragons that had been stopping by since the valley was opened as a clinic?

“Allow me to rephrase,” Izuku said darkly. “You will create a space for the Council’s human, or you will be sleeping outside.”

Shouto turned and bolted.  At least he’d listened to Queen Kaguya and told Izuku about it  _before_ the human got there. His mind went to his father, off picking up the Council’s choice, and shuddered.  _I hope_ , he thought as he began scouring the valley for the place to make a cave to put the new human,  _that there are no surprises coming._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one of those is Famous Last Words, and this story has a happy ending.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enji goes to collect Kagome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things: One, shorter chapter than normal (I said all I need to say in this, so moving on) and two, yes she really does have mood swings like that in the anime. Not as bad in the manga, but they'll make sense when we learn the reasoning behind them later.

“Of course your mate can come with you,” Enji said as he looked at the size of the bag. It couldn't be as heavy as it looked—she _was_ carrying it after all. Still—it was over twice the size she was. How could she carry that thing and _still stand up straight_?

“See?” Kagome said turning to look at her mate. Enji could see that they’d been mated long enough that the crimson mark had faded to silver-blue. “I told you it would be fine.”

One of the pointed ears twitched as the silver-haired man looked at his mate. “There are a lot of things I don’t know,” he said warily, “but I do know that there’s no way the people we’re going to know you’re bringing me.”

Kagome sighed and flung her pack to the ground—which dented under it. “Look,” she said irritably. “They know I’m omega, they know I’m mated—they  _should_ know that I’m bringing my mate with me. Stop complaining already.” She crossed her arms and glared. “Unless you don’t  _want_ to go?” she asked dangerously.

“Nope.” The silver-haired, dog-eared man-shaped thing raised both arms in capitulation. “Of course I want to go,” he tried again as his mate glared at him. “Don’t want to leave strange alphas alone with you—he he,” he laughed nervously.

Kagome’s eyes narrowed for a bit, and then she swung the huge pack up over her back again before striding towards Enji. “ Ms. Kagome,” Enji said respectfully as he eyed the huge bag over her shoulder, “I would have an easier time carrying that bag if I’m in full dragon form.”

Inu-Yasha snorted. “You’d have an easier time carrying that bag if you had another dragon carry it,” he told the dragon.

“What. Did. You. Say.”

“Well,” Inu-Yasha added hastily, “he still has to carry _us_ is all and the three together might be more than he can carry—”

“Shut up!” screamed Kagome.

“Are you still sure you want him to come?” Enji asked. He had no more of an idea why she was mad than Inu-Yasha did, but he understood that Inu-Yasha was making her mood worse.

Kagome growled, a growl worthy of an alpha dragon. “I said,” she told both of them firmly, “that he’s coming with me. UNDERSTAND?”

Both Inu-Yasha and Enji flinched. “Yes, Ma’am,” said Enji with newfound humility.

“O—of course,” stammered Inu-Yasha.

“Good.” Suddenly Kagome smiled. “Okay,” she said firmly. “I think it’s time to go.”

Enji didn’t want to wait anymore; he regained full dragon form and held out a leg so the two could climb on his back. Fortunately his long hair would provide the best grips for riders that they could have.  He could also feel the weight of that huge pack. How had the girl managed to pick it up so easily? It was insane. 

One of the nice things about being in full dragon form was that he couldn't speak. People had a tendency to forget that he could still hear when he was playing courier, and  _that_ gave him valuable information. Most of the time.

“So look,” the silver-haired male said. “I know you like and trust Kaguya, but Naraku’s involved. That means nothing is going to quite be what it seems.”

Enji wasn’t sure if the silver-haired thing was actually on a first name basis with the queen, or if he simply didn’t know how address royalty. The male reminded Enji of dragons that never properly socialized with other dragons—they just didn’t know how to act in a social setting.

“Which is exactly why,” Kagome said grimly, “we have to find out.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to—I don’t know—duck until the danger’s passed?”

“Do you honestly think the danger _will_ pass? After everything.”

There was a moment of silence on his back before the silver-haired male sighed. “No. You’re right. I just hate seeing you go into danger.”

“I’ll be fine.” The male snorted. “I will!”

“You’ll see someone weaker than you are in trouble and run in trying to make everything better.”

Interesting. Enji wouldn't have thought the silver-haired male to  have that much insight into his mate. He’d known couples that had been mated for decades to not know that much about each other—like his own doomed mating.

“I can’t change who I am,” Kagome said gently.

“I know. I just still have nightmares after last time,” confessed the silver-haired male.

As Enji flew on he could only wonder: what happened last time?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting ready for visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--this chapter turned out longer than I thought it would be. Eh, the last one was shorter so it's all good, right?

Katsuki put down the boulder he’d pried from the side of the mountain and stared at Shouto. “You suggested  _what_ ?” he demanded of the other dragon.

Shouto tossed another boulder irritably. He still didn’t understand why Izuku was so irritated with him, and it was grating on his nerves. “I suggested we put the Council human up in the tent,” he repeated.

Katsuki sighed. “Shouto,” he said, and stopped. He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a laugh. “Damn. Now I know how  _you_ feel when  _I_ do something stupid.”

“What are you talking about?” Shouto pried another boulder out of the mountain for the cave and tossed it out.

“Shouto, where is that tent now?” asked Katsuki patiently.

“Under the bed.” Shouto had helped Katsuki and Izuku take the tent down, because Izuku had wanted to put it under the bed. 

“Yes. Shouto. Under the bed,” continued Katsuki with as much patience as he could muster. Then, seeing that the other dragon hadn’t put it together yet he sighed again. “Shouto, Izuku considers the bed his nest.” Surely _that_ was a concept the other dragon could wrap his head around.

“Okay…”

“And that tent,” continued Katsuki mercilessly, “is where the three of us first bonded. It still smells like that Shouto.”

Shouto frowned as he started carving another boulder. “Yes,” he admitted. Granted he didn’t get  _under_ the bed to smell the tent, but he was sure it still smelled like that. It hadn’t been cleaned since, as far as Shouto knew.

Katsuki growled, but reigned it in. It was imperative for the peace of the nest that Shouto realize what he did wrong. “Izuku put a cloth item, an item which smells like all three of us, in his nest.”

“Yes…”

“And _you_ ,” Katsuki continued wondering if Shouto was being deliberately dense, “suggested he use _part of his nest_ to house this _strange human_ we’ve never met before.”

“Oh…” Shouto felt sick as he realized what he’d accidentally done.

Katsuki snorted as he carved another boulder. “I’m surprised he didn’t pick you up and  _throw_ you out of the cave.”

“Well, I’m sure the human would have understood,” Shouto continued in his defense. “After all, the Council is sending an omega.”

Katsuki paused. If Shouto thought that another omega would understand why it was being put in a tent that smelled like bonding sex—he couldn't understand why people (especially his mother) thought Shouto was the better choice to deal with humans. “Probably a good thing you didn’t get around to mentioning that,” Katsuki said as he tossed yet another boulder out of the newly created cave and looked around. “How deep does thing have to be, anyway?” he asked. 

“This is probably deep enough. All we need is chimney in case she wants a fire.” Shouto looked around. “And it could probably use something in the way of furnishings,” he admitted. Not that he was an expert on what humans liked—but Izuku’s room was much more crowded than this.

“True. You do the chimney, I’ll talk to Deku.”

“ _You’ll_ talk to him?”

“Yes, _I’ll_ talk to him. He’s probably still pissed at _you_.” Without waiting for a response Katsuki took to the air to glide to the next mountain over (after looking at it both he and Shouto had agreed that mountain couldn't support another cave—fortunately, it wasn’t the only mountain around the valley) and into the living cave he shared with Izuku. Normally he shared it with both Izuku and Shouto—but he wasn’t sure if Shouto would be allowed in just yet.

Izuku was sitting at his desk staring at the wood. His notebook was there—but it wasn’t open. Izuku’s head first bent to one side and then the other as hummed to himself. When he heard Katsuki’s claws he turned and asked, “Was I too hard on him?”

“No. No you were not.” Katsuki reached out and gently thumped Izuku’s nose. “Shouto was being an inconsiderate asshole, and you _should_ have lost your temper with him.”

Izuku still looked worried. “It’s just—I understand that dragons don’t have nests like humans do and he might not have realized just what it was he was suggesting and I kind of lost my temper before that when he didn’t realize why I was upset—”

“Deku,” said Katsuki firmly. “Stop. Breathe.” He waited for Izuku to comply before leaning against the desk, tail lightly thumping against the wood. This wasn’t good. Izuku hadn’t had a panic attack in _years—_ and Shouto was causing one. Well, Shouto or—or his condition. Katsuki frowned as he realized he didn’t actually _know_ that much about humans. “Listen,” he continued, “you might understand that we’re both dragons, but _we_ also understand that you’re _human_. We try to keep that in mind all the time—Shouto just didn’t do a good job.” He let his irritation with the other dragon show in his voice for just a moment.

Izuku looked up at Katsuki—and he just looked sad. It broke Katsuki’s heart, because he didn’t understand why. “Katsuki,” Izuku said. Katsuki flinched at the full sound of his name from Izuku’s mouth. It just didn’t sound right. “You and Shouto shouldn't always  _have_ to adjust to me. That’s not how a relationship works.” He looked down at his lap. “We’re supposed to adjust  _together_ ,” he added. 

Katsuki got down and gently forced Izuku to look at him. “Hey,” he said. “We  _are_ adjusting together.” He tried to put into words what he saw, every day. “You know everything about us, and usually what we need before we do. If there’s something one of us needs, you make  _sure_ it’s seen to—even if it’s inconvenient for you.” He reached out and cupped Izuku’s face in his hands. “We see it Deku—even if you don’t.”

Izuku buried his face in Katsuki’s chest, hugging the dragon tighter. “It  _feels_ wrong,” he protested.

“I know,” Katsuki gently rubbed Izuku’s back. He had a rough idea what Izuku was going through. He felt bad—because he had thrown his mate out of the nest. He also felt bad—because said mate had been an inconsiderate asshole. He felt worse, because part of his instincts were telling him that one of the feelings _should_ be canceling out the other.

Maybe Shouto should have a few discussions with Masumi. For a beta the dragon understood omega’s  _really_ well…  Probably still a bad idea to mention that the human coming was  _also_ an omega—and that Shouto had known  _that_ .

“Well,” Katsuki said, partly to distract Izuku and partly to complete his original mission before Enji arrived with the human the Council was sending, “the cave’s practically done. It’s in the next mountain over.” Izuku relaxed and heaved a sigh—and Katsuki realized there was another point of tension. The only people (aside from the old hag and who knew how many dragons that had put it together before they arrived) that had been in the living cave were Izuku, Shouto, and Katsuki. Even Fuyumi was sleeping in one of the patient caves that he and Shouto had carved out. Besides that, the old hag and the other Bakugo dragons were practically family—and so was Fuyumi. Izuku didn’t want to share his space, his _alphas_ with some strange person that he’d never even _met_.

Maybe Enji should have spent less time teaching Shouto self control and more time teaching him about  _people_ .

“I’m sorry for being unreasonable,” Izuku said.

“You weren’t,” Katsuki said firmly. “Shouto deserved every bit of that, and don’t forget it.”

“Kay.”

The simple word showed Katsuki how much mental strain Izuku had been under. He cursed himself for not realizing, for letting Izuku’s enthusiasm for his new home blind him.  Izuku had boon forced to  _run_ from the only home he’d ever known, had almost  _died_ because someone—someone he  _should_ have been able to trust—had tried to kill him. His parents were stuck under the control of said person and he had no idea how they were doing. It had to be eating at him alive.

True, Katsuki and Shouto also left their clans, the only homes they’d ever known—but it was different. They were  _dragons_ ; the most powerful dragons in their respective clans. They would either have had to strike out on their own or fight their own parents to take over the clan—that was just how dragons lived. Besides; if Katsuki  _really_ wanted, he could still fly to visit his mother. Izuku was trapped in the valley. Both dragons thought they understood what that meant—but they didn’t. Not really. Izuku was hiding pain and fear beneath his cheery exterior—and Katsuki didn’t know how to make it better. Once again there was something wrong with his mate that he just couldn't fix. He didn’t know how.

He gently pushed Izuku away as he wracked his brain for something to change the subject. He didn’t know what to do with his realization yet, but he’d figure it out. Maybe the human coming was something of a healer he could talk to. Maybe the two humans would be friends. Izuku needed more friends—or at least, more friends that weren’t dragons. “What should we put in the cave?” he asked.

“In the cave?” echoed Izuku, confused.

“For the human visitor. I think it needs more than bare rock.”

“At the very least,” Izuku said as he released Katsuki’s body and turned back to his desk to grab the map of the dragon lands he’d been making, “the human will need a bed. He looked through the map and then pointed. “The humans of this village haven’t traded with us in a while.”

Katsuki mentally marked it and nodded. “Then I’m off. Don’t be afraid to make Shouto grovel,” he advised his mate. “I’m sure the experience will be good for him.” He then ran for the entrance before taking off, in order to avoid scattering Izuku’s notes.

The human villagers were surprised upon learning that Katsuki wanted to trade for a bed—and when they saw the meat he brought offered him three of them. He picked the one that looked the most like what Izuku had, figuring that if it was for a human then it made sense to use a human template for it. Then he picked it up and hauled it back to the cave—just as Shouto finished making a fireplace.

Katsuki hoped Izuku wouldn't be jealous about the fireplace—there wasn’t one in  _their_ cave. Then again, their cave didn’t need one. Dragons, by necessity, put off a lot of heat and Izuku was almost always with one or the other of them. He put the bed close to the fireplace because—why not? It was as good a place as any to put the bed. Besides, he could hear Enji’s wing-beats.

Shouto frowned, head cocked as he listened as well. “Is Enji in full dragon form?” he asked, confused. “Why?”

“Good question.” Katsuki went to the front of the cave and leaped out, hovering between the mountains for a moment. Should he tell Izuku that Enji had arrived with the company? No, Izuku had ears of his own. Besides, Katsuki wanted a chance to meet the human first. No matter what Shouto thought, humans did not just magically get along all the time.

The large red dragon got close enough for the people on his back to see the two dragons hovering in front of the mountain. One of them growled—and pulled out a  _very_ familiar sword with fur at the hilt. As it jumped towards Katsuki he saw the familiar silver-haired idiot behind the sword. 

“Oh,” growled Katsuki as he allowed his power to flow around his hands. “Fuck that shit!” He raced towards the oncoming figure.

“Inu-Yasha!” screamed the second figure on Enji’s back.

“Kacchan!” came the yell from the cave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are still welcome.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First impressions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--this is a short (and I mean *short*) chapter, but I kind of left off on a cliffhanger and wanted to get this up ASAP.

“Sit boy!” snarled a voice from Enji’s back. The necklace around Inu-Yasha’s neck glowed and forced him to the ground at the same time that a hurtling greenish figure came out of nowhere to land on the dragon’s back.

“I thought we agreed you weren’t going to _do_ that anymore!” snarled Inu-Yasha.

“Deku, you idiot, you could have hurt yourself!”

“We also agreed you weren’t going to be an ass!”

“Kacchan, you can’t just attack visitors. You know Enji.”

“Were you paying attention? That’s a _dragon_!”

“That asshole pulled his sword first!”

“We rode in on a dragon idiot!”

“He what?”

Enji calmly deposited Kagome on the ground next to her mate and put the large bag in the cave that the two dragons had come out of before transforming back into his half-human state. “That could have gone better.”

“Indeed,” agreed Shouto looking at his mate switching between berating Katsuki and glaring at the silver-haired human shaped dog. There was an odd undercurrent of satisfaction in Shouto’s voice that Enji didn’t understand. 

Izuku got off Katsuki and walked a few steps to where he was facing the newcomers. “Hi. I’m Izuku, second prince of Midoriya, and I understand you drew a  _weapon_ on my mate?”

Enji moved to interfere, but Shouto reached out and stopped him. He looked at the older dragon and shook his head before turning back to the scene in front of them. Shouto had a lot of confidence in his mate—and Enji wasn’t sure that was a good thing. True, Kagome did seem to have Inu-Yasha under control—but the alpha was clearly unstable.

“Your _mate_ ,” snarled Inu-Yasha as his ears flattened against his head, “attacked us!”

“Years ago!” retorted Katsuki. “And _you_ were hunting in _my_ clan’s lands!”

Izuku heaved a sigh that somehow managed to both be soft and get both alphas’ attention. “ _This_ valley,” he said slowly, deliberately in a tone that  made Katsuki mantle nervously, “is neutral territory. All the dragons, and these are the  _Dragon Lands_ ,” he continued firmly, “have agreed on that. You,” he said pointing at Inu-Yasha, “threatened the peace of a  _neutral territory_ by drawing a weapon first.”

“And what about what he did?” demanded Inu-Yasha.

“Kacchan saw your weapon and acted to defend the valley,” Izuku calmly explained. “ _By law_ I can call a Clan Convergence to try you. Do you understand?”

Enji blinked. He’d had no idea that Izuku was so familiar with dragon law—but it made sense. The boy had been studying dragons since he was a small child. Still—who had taught him? He doubted it was something that had just happened to come up in casual conversation; the last Convergence was two generations ago.

Kagome stepped in front of and around Inu-Yasha and held out a hand. “Kagome, sent by the Council to see how you’re doing.” She looked around at the valley, the cowed dragon next to Izuku, and the two other dragons just watching. “I don’t know  _why_ they were worried,” she continued with absolute blunt honesty.

Izuku grinned and took the hand. “Izuku, first dragon doctor ever. My mates built the two of you cave over there for your stay here.”

Enji called out, “I have already put your bag in the cave, Ms. Kagome.”  He fluttered down and Shouto joined him.

“Thank you!” she said brightly. “Come on Inu-Yasha,” she said firmly as she strode towards the path (that Katsuki had made) up the cliff face. Inu-Yasha whined and followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on. You didn't really think I'd let them spill blood this early, did you?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out there's another reason why Kagome was sent...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a bit longer than normal. Also a little warning: Biology talks ahead! (Maybe an infertility trigger as well. Sorry. I'll add a tag if it's a problem, so let me know.) Probably the only one of the day--life is hectic. I kind of changed Kagome's story around a bit, making her from another world instead of another time--but I thought it would be sad if dragons weren't around in the future. Hope you enjoy!

Inu-Yasha stared as Kagome pulled a mattress out of the bag. He wasn’t surprised it fit (the bag was huge), but he wasn’t certain why  she had brought it in the first place. She shook it out (it was something she’d brought from home and rolled up to shake out again as fluffy as ever) and laid it over the mattress on the bed. The bed, which Inu-Yasha couldn't help but notice, was the only piece of furniture in the room. He waited for her to be upset about that.

“That went well,” Kagome said with a little hum of satisfaction as she pulled out sheets (when did she pack those?) and began making the bed.

“Aside from us almost killing each other?” asked Inu-Yasha wryly.

Kagome grinned at him, clearly in a much better mood. “Aside from that,” she said. She turned back to the bag. “It’s a good thing I packed everything,” she said. “There’s not much here.”

“There’s a bed,” Inu-Yasha pointed out.

“Yes,” she said absently. “Must be Izuku’s influence. Dragons don’t use furniture, as a general rule. They don’t even use soft stuff unless they’re nesting.” After pulling out some floor cushions and tossing them around (Inu-Yasha might not care about sitting on cold stone, but _she_ did) she pulled out a twine-wrapped set of books. “Here we are,” she said.

“What are those?” asked Inu-Yasha.

“Presents from Queen Kaguya,” Kagome said. She smiled at Inu-Yasha. “Let’s go deliver them.”

His ears twitched. Sure he didn’t  _like_ caves very much, but…”Would it be better for me to stay here?” he asked. He couldn't create what Kagome referred to as “an incident” if he wasn’t there.

“Don’t be silly,” said Kagome brightly. “You’d be better with me.” 

Inu-Yasha wasn’t sure about that, but he followed obediently. There wasn’t a carved path between the two caves, so they had to go down to the valley floor and back up again. They paused as Kagome looked around the valley. From what she’d been told, Izuku had been in residence for less than a year, but it looked like cultivation had begun several years ago, judging by the size of some of the imported trees. (And the trees were  _clearly_ imported.)

She continued up the next set of steps and Inu-Yasha nearly ran into her when she stopped, reached out, and rapped her hand sharply against the wall of the cave. “ Come in!” a cheerful voice greeted, and she did just that with Inu-Yasha trailing nervously behind. The cave smelled of two dragons and a human  and it made him want to run—which made him want to fight.

Deep in the cave, lit by globes of light (Kagome wondered if she’d be able to grab a few before going back home) was a homey area with hardwood floors, a bed, a desk, and lots of bookshelves. Almost an entire wall of the cave was dedicated to bookshelves.  The human, Izuku, was standing in front of one of the bookshelves putting a book up.

Kagome smiled as she approached him and he smiled back. “Hi. Now that we don’t have two idiots about to kill each other, I came to deliver the books from Queen Kaguya.”

Izuku chuckled as he walked over to her to take the bundle of books. “Aunt Kaguya has always known me well,” he said. Then he scanned the spines and looked at Kagome, one brow raised. Quickly she glanced at Inu-Yasha behind her and he nodded. “And unlike certain other people,” he added bitterly as he put the stack on the desk, “ _she_ never tried to tell me my dream was stupid.”

Kagome shuddered. “I know,” she said with feeling. “I know.” The two omegas shared a much friendlier (and far less polite) smile.

Izuku tilted his head to one side as he examined her. She looked like someone he knew, but… “Are you related to Kikyo?” he asked.

She winced. “It’s a long story,” she said. “But to make it short—yes and no.”

“Ah.” Izuku went to the bed, pulled several pillows off, and brought them to the floor to sit on. Kagome took the implied invitation and sat on the pillow he put next to her. Inu-Yasha poked the one in front of him with a finger. “Is it a story you want to tell?” he asked as he took his own seat and Inu-Yasha flipped the pillow over and stared at the other side.

Kagome had no idea what he thought he was doing. Both sides of the pillow looked exactly the same. “Not really,” she admitted absently as she kept an eye on her alpha.

“So how’d you get roped into a mating with two dragons?” Inu-Yasha suddenly asked. Kagome glared at him, wanting to smack him.

“I proposed,” Izuku said with a smirk.

Any remark that Inu-Yasha would have made was interrupted by the white and gold dragon gliding in and coming to a remarkably delicate stop. Kagome couldn't help but notice that his claws didn’t even damage the hardwood floor. “Good news Deku,” the dragon said. “The old hag said we could have a valley for the meat if we can drive the meat into it.”

Izuku beamed as his mate dropped and put an arm around him, shooting a quick glare at Inu-Yasha. “That’s excellent Kacchan!” he said happily.

The white and gold dragon grinned. “Well, she said you had a point. About the natural resource thing.” Suddenly the dragon let go of Izuku and rounded on Inu-Yasha. “You’re going to help,” he said cheerfully. Kagome was almost certain the dragon was also gloating.

“What?” demanded Inu-Yasha.

“You can use that sword of yours for something useful,” continued the dragon as he hauled Inu-Yasha off the floor.

“Hey!”

“Have fun!” Izuku called as he waved at them leaving. He waited, knowing how sharp a dragon’s hearing was. He didn’t know if Kagome’s Inu-Yasha had the same sharp hearing—but it wasn’t likely to be better. He looked at Kagome, all seriousness. “And?” he asked keeping his voice low. “You want to talk about it now?”

She looked down at the floor, studying the grain of the hardwood as her hand clutched the pillow under her. “Inu-Yasha and I have been trying to have a baby,” she said bluntly. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. “It’s not working,” she whispered. She sighed and looked back up at Izuku. “It’s not supposed  to be this hard,” she said. 

Izuku got up, went to the desk, and came back with a journal and a glass pen. “I’m going to have to ask some questions,” he said as he opened the journal and wrote something in it. 

“Of course you are,” she replied as she shifted to a more comfortable position.

“All right. You know you’re known as the ‘the child of the well’,” Izuku began.

She sighed. “I wasn’t actually  _born_ from the well,” she said tartly. “I was—I’m from another world on the other side.”

Izuku looked up. “Oh?” he asked. “How different is it?”

“Very different. There are no dragons or—”

“I mean,” Izuku clarified, “are there omegas, alphas and betas in the world on the other side?”

She blinked. “Yes,” she said thoughtfully, “but—but alphas and omegas are pretty rare. I’m first one born in my family for the last, oh, four generations.”

“How big is your family?”

“I’ve got a brother. Mom has a sister and a brother, and Dad was an only child.”

Izuku made another note. “So—both your parents were betas?” he asked.

“Yes. Does it matter?”

“It doesn’t help.” Izuku scowled at his book. “I don’t know why,” he said, “but when an omega is born from beta parents, the omega tends to have difficulty conceiving. Now your mate—” he hesitated.

“Inu-Yasha.”

“Inu-Yasha—I’m not familiar with his species. He’s an alpha—does he go into rut?”

She blinked in confusion. “Don’t all alphas?”

“Not dragons,” Izuku said as he made another note. “In most species,” he added, “the alpha male goes into a rut to increase sperm count.”

“And dragons…”

He snorted as he looked up at her. “Trust me,” he said firmly, “if a dragon’s sperm count gets any higher the release won’t be  _fluid_ anymore.”

She blinked. And then blushed. “Ah—”

“Yup. Next question,” Izuku said moving on before she had a chance to be properly embarrassed about things. “What about your heats? Have they synchronized with his ruts?”

“Ah—no. No they haven’t.”

“Hmm.” Izuku made another note and then began flipping through the book, to something he’d apparently written earlier. “That’s odd,” he mused out loud. “Normally an omega’s heat synchronizes—Kagome, what does Inu-Yasha think of children?”

“What?”

“Sometimes,” Izuku said, “when an alpha is worried about something—like children—his body will refuse to synch. In fact, the ruts will become almost random as the body tries desperately _not_ to synchronize.” He looked back up at Kagome, letting the notebook fall into his lap. “Maybe,” he said slowly, “this is something that can be solved with a conversation.”

She looked down at her hands for a moment. “Maybe,” she said, unconvinced.

“There’s also something else,” he said. He got up and pulled something out of the drawer. “If you know when his rut is coming, you can _force_ yourself to synchronize with it.” He brought her the small drawstring bag.

“Force myself?” she asked. She’d never heard of that before. She opened the bag and gave it a cautious sniff. “Tea?” she asked.

He nodded as he took his seat again. “Not just any tea,” he added. “I designed it to induce a heat.” She stared at him, eyes wide and he smiled grimly. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t actually have the recipe written down, and I haven’t told anyone what it is. But it works.” He absently touched the two bond marks on his neck. “I can guarantee it works.”

Kagome looked at the little bag and tucked it—carefully—into a pocket. “How?” she asked. She’d never heard of anything like it—not on either side of the well.

“A while ago,” he said eyes staring vacantly ahead, “I got injured and to prevent a—an unwanted situation the healers were giving me a tea to suppress my heat.” She nodded; she’d heard of that—although she wouldn't have if she hadn’t been an omega. “So, when I recognized all of the ingredients in the tea,” he continued, “I thought about their properties. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could _combine_ what I needed to suppress a heat—and I wondered if I could _induce_ one. So, after they taught me how to make the medicine, I experimented.” He grinned again. “And I was _right_.”

“Do your mates know?” she asked in wonder.

He snorted. “My mates,” he said with a grin, “have no idea that I know I’m pregnant.” She stared at him, eyes wide and he shrugged. “I know. But apparently it’s something dragons can’t do. I’m waiting for a ‘suitable’ time to realize it.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just tell them?” she asked.

“Maybe. I’ll think on it.”

She wanted to rat him out to his alphas at once—but it wasn’t  _her_ relationship. She couldn't give advice, because she was on the outside looking in. For all she knew, this was the best way to deal with two dragon alphas. “So,” she said, changing the subject. “Deku?”

He smiled, a simple and happy one this time. “Back when Kacchan and I first met he thought my name was Zeku. Not sure why; but shortly after we met I told him I was going to grow up to be a dragon doctor—so he put the two together. Doctor Zeku. Deku.” His smile was suddenly a warning sign. “And only Kacchan is allowed to call me that,” he added.

“I wouldn't dare,” she assured him. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three alphas have a council of war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out longer than I was expecting. I think you might get spoiled by two long chapters in a row--so the next one will (probably) be short. Enjoy!

“Wind Scar!” The sword lashed down and power blew a hole through the rock—just before the stampeding herd of bison trampled through. As soon as the last of the bison ran through into the valley below Katsuki dropped a huge rock into the hole that Inu-Yasha had created.

The dragon grinned at the sight of the huge herd milling in the valley among the greenery down there. “Well,  _that’s_ taken care of,” he said with satisfaction.

“Mind telling me why we just herded a bunch of bison into a valley?” asked Inu-Yasha as his sword shrank and he put it away.

“First of all,” Katsuki said, “Deku wanted a valley so we don’t actually hunt out the lands around here. I think he’s expecting to have a lot of patients.” The dragon looked at the other alpha and asked, “Secondly, did you even _want_ to stay there listening to the two of them talk about any and everything? I don’t know about Kagome, but once Deku gets started he doesn’t tend to stop.”

Inu-Yasha sighed and leaned against a boulder. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Kagome’s like that too.” His ears twitched as he  regarded the yellow and gold dragon. “That’s not why you wanted me to come out here, though.”

“No, but I thought it could wait until—oh, here he is.”

A second dragon, one that was half white and half red split right down the middle that Inu-Yasha vaguely remembered seeing earlier, landed neatly on the boulder beside the white and gold dragon. “ Who’s this?” the red and white dragon asked, indicating Inu-Yasha.

“Shouto, meet Inu-Yasha,” said the white and gold dragon. “The mate of the omega that the Council sent. You know, the ones you were going to give _the tent_ to?”

“Shut up,” growled the dragon as the first one smirked.

“Inu-Yasha, this is Shouto. He can be a bit of an idiot, but in power he’s only second to me.”

“I’m not _second_ to you Katsuki.”

“Now.” The white and gold dragon shifted to a more comfortable perch on the rock he was on as he looked at both Inu-Yasha and the other dragon. “I couldn't help but notice that your mate looks similar to a certain healer named Kikyo that the two of us are familiar with.”

Inu-Yasha’s ears laid back against his head for a moment before he admitted, “We know Kikyo.”

He got pinned by a stare of one blue eye and one gray eye. “Do you also know Naraku?” asked the dragon intently. Inu-Yasha  growled at the mere mention of the name.

“Thought so,” said Katsuki with satisfaction.

“Why?” demanded Inu-Yasha.

The two dragons exchanged a look. The white and gold one nodded and the red and white one spoke. “Almost a year ago the two of us got letters from Izuku saying that he needed help. We both raced to the border as fast as we could to find that he was running from someone.”

Katsuki snorted. “No way,” he said grimly, “is that  _thing_ a person. I’ve met a lot of humans, and I’ve never seen a human make vines burst from the ground to attack someone.”

Inu-Yasha stilled as he remembered something similar that had happened to a friend of his. “If Izuku got attacked by that, I’m surprised he isn’t covered in scars.”

“He is,” Shouto said grimly.

“But,” continued Inu-Yasha, “you got lucky. I’m not sure there are any other healers besides Kikyo and Kaede who know how to treat that poison.” He remembered hitched, painful breathing before his friend died and shook the image out of his head.

“That’s not the most worrying part,” Shouto said. “Naraku was _at_ the Council.”

Katsuki frowned as he thought about it. “I thought it was only open to royalty and dragon clan chiefs.”

“It’s supposed to be.”

“Well, isn’t that interesting,” growled Inu-Yasha. “Kaguya didn’t mention _that_.” She’d known that Naraku was active again, and in the Midoriya kingdom—but she hadn’t mentioned that he’d been at the council. “What was he doing there?”

“Campaigning to get the Council to pull Izuku back into the Midoriya realm.”

“Fuck that!” snarled Katsuki. It was the first he’d heard of it and if he killed Naraku—it would also be the last. His claws clenched holes into the rock he was perched on as he growled. 

Shouto nodded grimly. “Indeed. The compromise was having a human sent to check on him—and Kaguya recommended Kagome.”

Inu-Yasha mulled that over. “How did Naraku take that news?” he demanded of the dragon.

Shouto smiled grimly. “Poorly. I got the sense he was frustrated—but he can’t get into the Dragon Lands any more than we can get to him.”

Inu-Yasha brought his feet up under his body as he tried to think. “All right,” he said as he mused out loud—aside from the fact that he was talking to  _dragons_ this conversation was very much like the councils of war that his group used to have way back when, “what is it that Izuku can do that Naraku can use?”

“Were you _listening_?” demanded Katsuki. “He tried to _kill_ Izuku.”

Inu-Yasha met the white and gold dragon’s eyes firmly. “Naraku can raise the dead,” he told the two of them grimly. “And when he does—he has complete control of them. So—what is it that Izuku can do that Naraku needs?” He jumped down and began pacing. “You have to understand,” he told them, “that Naraku never just makes one plan. And they’re never simple. The moment you think you understand what he wants you find out it was something else in the first place. So, what can Izuku  _do_ ?”

Katsuki scratched his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. His knowledge of humans was pretty much limited to four people he knew relatively well. “The only thing I can think of is that he wants to be a dragon doctor. Been studying since we were children, as a matter of fact.”

Inu-Yasha frowned. He didn’t think there was anything in being a dragon doctor that could get Naraku’s interest. After all, the thing had managed to convince them that he was dead…again. “Do dragons get sick a lot?” he asked.

“No,” Katsuki said. “We do get injured, but that’s usually our own stupid fault.”

“Like trying to steal a farmer’s prized sheep,” Shouto taunted.

“Fuck you! I only did that _once_.”

“And the crossbow worked?”

Katsuki’s face twisted into a grimace. “Hell no. The fucking sheep tasted awful.”

Shouto looked at Inu-Yasha. “Tame meat tastes bland. Speaking of—”

“Don’t worry. There’s a pack of wolves in the valley to keep the meat from getting too bland,” Katsuki assured him.

“Getting back to Naraku,” said Inu-Yasha. And Kagome complained that _he_ was easy to distract. He spread his hands helplessly. “There has to be something,” he finished lamely. “Naraku just doesn’t expend effort for nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” said Shouto grimly. He told them what he noticed about the King and Queen of Midoriya. Inu-Yasha just nodded, as though he hadn’t expected anything less. 

Katsuki’s reaction, on the other hand, was very different. “Toshinari’s  _what_ ?” demanded Katsuki. His mind reeled as he tried to reconcile the huge, overly muscled man with the walking skeleton that Shouto described. “Oh Thunder,” he whispered. “We’ve got to tell Deku!”

“Is that a good idea?” asked Shouto. “There’s nothing we can do. There’s nothing _he_ can do.”

“You think getting the news that his parents died without any warning will be _better_?” demanded Inu-Yasha. He might not know all that much about people (and still ended up pissing off his own mate more often than not), but he knew they liked to know things.

Shouto mantled nervously. It had made sense, in his head, to say nothing about what he’d seen—after all, it was a problem they couldn't fix. He  _wanted_ to be able to fix all Izuku’s problems.

“So after I get Kagome,” Inu-Yasha said firmly, “ _tell_ him about his parents. _I_ won’t say anything,” he added.

“What about his condition?” asked Shouto. “Won’t that put more stress on the baby?”

“Not if we’re there. Besides, Deku hasn’t realized he’s pregnant yet.”

Inu-Yasha stared at the two dragons. Surely they couldn't be  _that_ stupid. “Trust me,” Inu-Yasha told them, “if he’s pregnant—he knows.”

“I think we know our own mate better than that,” growled Katsuki.

“Right.” Not his place to correct them. The Katsuki picked up Inu-Yasha and the three of them went back to the cave. Normally Inu-Yasha would refuse to be carried—but he was a little worried about Kagome and itchy about so much time away from her. Especially since Naraku was active again.

When they got to the cave Izuku and Kagome were in the soft, fur and leather lined inner cave. “I think,” Izuku was saying, “that the dragons weren’t sure if I’d lay an egg or give birth to a baby.”

“That’s stupid,” Kagome said. “How could a human lay an egg?”

“The last dragon half that we know of,” Shouto said as he strode forwards, “hatched from an egg.” He hugged his mate who gave him a quick kiss.

“But the last dragon half,” Izuku pointed out, “was born from a _dragon_.” Katsuki arrived in the area and got a kiss of his own. “I’m human.”

“And we’re all very worried, I’m sure,” muttered Inu-Yasha. “Kagome, let’s give them privacy.”

“Yes!” said Kagome beaming at the human and two dragons as they left the cave.

On the way back to the cave he was temporarily sharing with Kagome Inu-Yasha couldn't help but wonder—what was so special about Izuku?


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome and Inu-Yasha have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is shorter than the last two I posted (is anyone surprised?). Also--I was originally going to go back to the castle to show what Inko is going through now--but that'll wait for the next chapter. I wanted some cozy stuff first. :)

Back in their (temporary) cave, Kagome sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Inu-Yasha paced the cave. “What is it?” she asked.

Inu-Yasha jumped to sit on the bed next to Kagome. “How can dragons be smart and stupid at the same time?” he demanded.

People had frequently asked Kagome the same question about Inu-Yasha. “What happened?” she asked, instead of answering.

“Okay, so they’re smart enough to know that they shouldn't hunt all the game out of the local area, and to prepare for the influx of patients that they’ll probably get now that Naraku has set his sights on the Dragon Lands.”

Kagome wasn’t sure it was something the dragons had come up with on their own; it sounded more like something Izuku would suggest. She had the impression that he thought about consequences before he acted; something no few of her friends could start doing. She said nothing though, wanting to know what Inu-Yasha thought they were being stupid about.

“Then they start arguing about whether or not they should tell their mate that his parents are dying!”

“They’re dying?” Kagome gasped. She didn’t know about that… 

Inu-Yasha gave her a dark look. “They’re being controlled by Naraku,” he said flatly. “And their fighting.”

Kagome winced. She knew what  _that_ meant—they’d seen it all before.  At first, Naraku would find the fact they were fighting, rebelling against whatever he was doing to them—amusing. He would toy with them. Then, if they broke, they’d be his puppets. If they didn’t break—they had a long, debilitating illness that killed them slowly and painfully. The whole time they were dying he would taunt them with how they could have lived if they had just  _broken_ . It was what had happened to Sango’s family.

Inu-Yasha nodded grimly. “They’ve been bonded for a good half-year, and he ran from Naraku almost another half-year before that.” he told her. “I don’t imagine their deaths are far off.”

“No,” Kagome whispered sadly. She remembered the pain that Sango had gone through, watching her family. They’d all tried to help, but—but it had been too late. Once the dead have risen again under Naraku’s control, there was only one way to help.

Inu-Yasha fidgeted restlessly. “They were worried about the news being too much for their mate while he’s pregnant and I pointed out that receiving the news they died without any kind of warning would be worse.”

“True,” Kagome agreed. How much worse would Sango’s pain have been if, instead of doing everything she could to help her family, was just told one day they had died and how?

“And then they said he doesn’t know he’s pregnant!” ranted Inu-Yasha. “Seriously—how the hell can he _not_ know he’s pregnant? He’s an omega and omegas can—”

“Not dragon omegas, according to Izuku.”

Inu-Yasha stared at her for a moment, ears twitching before he threw himself across the bed. He wasn’t sure  _why_ Kagome had packed the mattress, but he was glad she had. He liked the familiar scents of the two of them on it. “I don’t even know anymore,” he complained.

Kagome laid down next to him. “Me neither,” she agreed as she stared at the cave ceiling beyond the luxurious four-poster bed. Where had they even gotten it?  She picked absently at the fabric of the sheets on the mattress as she remembered her conversation with Izuku. Talk to Inu-Yasha. “Hey,” she said as she picked at the fabric and stared at the ceiling, “what do you think of children?”

“Children in general or children like us having pups?” asked Inu-Yasha.

There were people who would have been surprised that Inu-Yasha, infamous for his temper and how he’d attack first ask questions later, would ask such a philosophical question. Kagome knew better. “Like us having pups,” she said, carefully not looking at him. She didn’t want him adjusting his answer to avoid upsetting her—she wanted the truth. Needed the truth.

“I don’t know. Sometimes I think it would be nice, us having a pup of our own. But I’ll tell you the truth Kagome—the thought of you getting pregnant scares the hell out of me.”

“What?” Kagome levered herself up onto one arm and looked at him in surprise. “Why?” she asked.

Now Inu-Yasha was the one carefully not looking at  _her_ . “There are—there are a lot things that can go wrong when someone's pregnant,” he said slowly. “We’ve  _seen_ that—when people ran to you thinking you were Kikyo and that you could somehow  _fix_ it.” He began plucking at the covering nervously, nails digging into the soft material. “Remember that woman by the falls? How she pushed and pushed but the baby was trying to come out wrong? I can’t forget the way she  _screamed_ .” He shook his head rapidly to shake the thoughts away. “I keep having nightmares,” he admitted, “only it’s  _you_ in the bed, trying to push the baby out.  _My_ baby—killing you.”

“Oh, Inu-Yasha,” said Kagome. She rolled over and cuddled close to him. For a moment—as old memories surfaced—he resisted, and then he pulled her close to him. “It will be okay,” she told him as she laid her head against his collarbone. He didn’t say anything—but gripper her tighter, clearly disagreeing with her. “It will be,” she insisted. “Unlike that woman we live near people who know what to do. _Sango_ knows what to do Inu-Yasha. _Kaede_ knows what to do. I’m sure we could even come back here where I’m certain _Izuku_ knows what to do.” She nuzzled his chest gently. “I’ll be fine.”

“You keep almost dying,” Inu-Yasha whined. Suddenly he flung his head into the crook of her neck, nuzzling the bond mark. “I don’t know what would happen if I lost you,” he whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, back at the castle...
> 
> And yes, I know I'm playing fast and loose with people's abilities. (They're not quirks in this AU.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is short and *dark*. If you don't want to read it, there's a summary at the bottom.

Inko’s eyes snapped open. She knew it was the middle of the night—but that was when  _his_ power was the weakest.  She lay in her bed and glared at the ceiling as she  _seethed_ . How had that—that  _thing_ ever gotten into the castle? Who had let it in?

As quickly as it had awoken the anger subsided. It had gotten in—because no one knew what it was. They’d thought it was just a man applying for the position of adviser since Iida became ill. It was only  _now_ , knowing all that she knew, that she realized it was the  _reason_ Iida became ill.

She smiled grimly as she remembered when Naraku had learned that he couldn't get what he wanted. He couldn't—because  _Izuku_ had it. For the first time since the boy was born she was grateful that it was  _Izuku_ who had it and not his older brother Itsuki. Izuku, who had been pledged to two dragons since he was small and now had the unconditional support of the entire Dragon Lands—Izuku was out of reach. Itsuki, as Heir to the Throne, was only in another country.

The smile faded as she sat up and took in the wheezing, skeletal figure of her husband. Toshinari was going to die soon—they both were. She could feel the power eating through her like acid—slowly, one drop at a time.

The two of them were going to die and leave their children to that—that  _monster_ . She knew that as soon as they died the thing would have Itsuki called back for his duties—

_What if he didn’t come?_

She stared at the window, vacantly, as she processed the information. If Itsuki didn’t come to claim the throne after she and Toshinari died—the kingdom would be in chaos.

_The kingdom is already in chaos. Most of the vassals are dead pawns._

Okay. So—the kingdom was already doomed. Their fault for letting the monster in. It really was. However; Itsuki had been raised to believe he was responsible for it, for everyone in it. How to get him to realize there were some fights he couldn't win and shouldn't try? How?

_Izuku got a letter out_ .

She smiled grimly. He  _had_ gotten a letter, probably more than one, out when under siege from the monster. And Izuku, bless his heart, didn’t take after  _her_ side of the family.

Itsuki did.

She got up, ignoring the chill of the stones beneath her feet as she hobbled to the window cursing her weakness.  There was once a time she could run with the soldiers on their daily training run, around the castle. Back when the soldiers were still alive. Before the monster came.

She leaned against the window when she reached it—the cool glass soothing her flushed face even as her feet froze from the cold stone below it. Before she could lose more strength she forced the window open.

After Izuku escaped the pigeon pen (pigeons raised and bred by Inko were  _much_ better than the average homing pigeon—and, according to Mitsuki, they tasted better too) was destroyed. The  _story_ (there were enough people still alive that a story needed to be told) was that something had gotten in. She wasn’t stupid; the monster was trying to make sure that she and her husband were as isolated as possible as he tried to figure out a way to call Izuku back.

Izuku might have needed the pigeons in the pen—but  _Inko_ didn’t. She warbled a few soft notes and an owl silently glided to the window. She looked deep into the owl’s golden eyes, delivering her message. The owl blinked once, twice—and flew away as Inko, sweating and exhausted, collapse to the cold stone.

“Is something the matter, your majesty?” asked the cool, collected voice of the monster.

She repressed a shudder. It didn’t know that now, in the dark of the night, the spell was truly broken. She intended to keep it that way. “I needed—some air,” she gasped.

“Oh, Majesty,” said the monster as it held a hand out for her. Without hesitation (for hesitation would show she wasn’t as much in his control as he thought) she took it and he helped her up. “You’re not well enough for a walk in the middle of the night.” 

She chuckled as he helped her (and she sorely needed the help) back to bed. “You’re right about that,” she said lightly, as though amused. She allowed herself to be tucked into bed like a small child, and closed her eyes. She was on the verge of true sleep when the window was closed. The small sound of it latching  cracked through the air.

“Good night, Majesty,” the monster said pleasantly as it left. 

Inko’s eyes opened and she reached under the covers for her mate’s comforting hand. There was nothing of comfort to grab now—the hand was bone and slowly growing colder. Tears pricked her eyes because she knew it meant Toshinari was about to join the other dead. The dead walking around, doing the monster’s bidding.

And soon she would, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inko wakes up, temporarily free of Naraku's control, and makes a last ditch effort to send a message to the one son she has still in danger.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouto and Katsuki tell Izuku what they've seen of his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING* There will be discussions of miscarriage in this chapter, but no one is actually having one. There will be a mention of a past miscarriage, but again, no one is actually having them. The baby in question will be born healthy and happy (and with pink hair that has gold highlights because I'm weird like that). Just saying. If it's too triggering to read (and I can see how it would be) the summary says everything you need to know about this chapter. You can skip it and miss nothing.

Izuku bit his lip and looked down at the arms wrapped around his chest before leaning into Shouto for comfort as Katsuki held his hands. He didn’t  _like_ Shouto’s news—but he wasn’t  _surprised_ . He knew that his mother was too strong for Naraku to control for long—and it showed in how he  _couldn't_ completely control her. She  _still_ supported him living in the Dragon Lands, becoming the first ever dragon doctor. 

Still—it was one thing to  _guess_ that something was going to happen, and quite another to have it confirmed. Part of him wanted to run back to his parents’ sides while he knew that wasn’t something he could do. There was  _nothing_ he could do for them. And there was a tiny part of him that was selfishly glad he wouldn't have to see his parents slowly losing their battle against Naraku. He had a feeling it was better to hear about it second-hand than to actually  _see_ it happening right in front of him. He was still helpless either way—but it was easier, somehow, to be helpless when he wasn’t facing it every moment.

Despite that a sob caught in the back of his throat and Katsuki leaned forward so the was surrounded by both of them. “Cry Deku,” he advised as he wrapped his arms around Izuku and Shouto. “Go ahead and cry.”  Izuku grabbed Katsuki, buried his face in the dragon’s chest, and began to sob.

He had no idea how long he sat there, crying, while in the embrace of his two dragons.  Both Shouto and Katsuki had their wings half extended, cupped around him, to make certain he was safe while he cried  inside the nursery . After some time,  the tears began to dry up.

“If you want,” Shouto said, “we can plan a raid on the castle, to try and get your parents out.”

The idea of either of his mates even getting  _near_ Naraku made Izuku’s skin crawl. He couldn’t ask that of them—because he didn’t believe they’d come back. “No,” he said firmly. “Knowing—” He blinked and swallowed, a few more tears escaping before he cleared his throat and tried again. “Knowing this changes nothing. If the two of you go into human lands, and kidnap royalty, it will start a war.”

“We’d risk it for you,” Katsuki told him. 

“No,” said Izuku firmly. He thought of the baby growing in him. It was growing more slowly than it would have been if both parents were human, but faster than if both had been dragons. After all, dragons had a twenty-five month incubation period (including the time spent in the egg as it formed). Humans only had a ten month incubation period. He met Katsuki’s red eyes as calmly as possible. “No, I need the two of you here. When the baby comes.”

Shouto leaned his head down to nuzzle Izuku’s neck. “You’re pregnant,” he murmured.

There was no surprise in the statement; Izuku was guessing his scent had changed. He chuckled and reached up to rub Shouto’s head. “For a while now,” he told them.

Katsuki watched with narrowed eyes. “Deku,” he said, “how long have you known?”

Oh, that was right… They didn’t know. Well, no time like the present to tell them. “Since the beginning. Human omegas can tell the moment they ‘catch’ and there’s a baby.”

Katsuki sighed, laid down, and put his head in Izuku’s lap. “Why didn’t you say anything?” he grumbled.

“Because human omegas also tend to have a high miscarriage rate,” Izuku told them calmly, “and it wasn’t until recently I was sure it was going to stay.”

Shouto, his head still in Izuku’s neck, murmured, “Dragons don’t miscarry.” They knew what a miscarriage  _was_ , of course, since they had been at the castle when Inko lost what was going to be Izuku’s younger sibling—but it had never occurred to them that  _Izuku_ could go through the same thing.

“But I’m human,” he reminded the two of them gently.

Katsuki looked up at him and rolled over to where he was sitting in front of him. He reached out and gently cupped Izuku’s face, noticing the difference in his dragon leather-like skin and Izuku’s soft, tender skin. “We’d never forget it,” he assured his mate before leaning in for a kiss.

“Never,” agreed Shouto.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itsuki and Kaguya have a late night conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--uh, don't wrack your brains too hard for Itsuki. He's a character I created and not from either Hero Academia or Inu-Yasha. I just needed Izuku to have an older brother, and here he is!
> 
> Slightly longer than the last couple, slightly shorter than normal (still), and sadly, no fluff again yet. (I'm getting there! The plot demanded attention! Also: world building. Yay!)

Itsuki stared at the owl, shaking as he the message unfolded in his mind. It couldn't—couldn’t be what he thought it was. No, the message had to be something else. Something—anything else.

_We’re already dead sweetheart,_ the message from his mother said.  _Don’t come home. Don’t let the monster get you. There’s nothing left to protect_ .

No. He stood up and the owl took off, hooting in protest—and confusion as it found itself far outside of its normal territory. The owl would adjust—owls always did.

He turned and strode down the corridor, the guards giving the slight genuflection he, as a visiting prince, was due. Normally it made him nervous; at his home castle the guards were required to do no such thing—but on this one night, this occasion, he  didn’t even notice it. He had far more pressing worries on his mind.

He reached the rooms of Queen Kaguya, the woman he was learning how to rule a kingdom from, and knocked. The door opened in invitation, without the aid of servants. The first time it had happened Itsuki had been frightened out of his mind. In time though, he got over it. Almost comfortable.

Queen Kaguya was, as usual at night, in the center of the room with threads attached to both her chair and the wall. The only clear space was between the door and the chair, which was facing the door. “Your majesty,” he began.

Queen Kaguya smiled softly, sadly. “Itsuki,” she chided him gently. “I’m only Queen Kaguya during official business. Right now I’m just your Aunt Kaguya.”

Izuku had never had any trouble calling her “Aunt”, but then Izuku was also engaged to two dragons. He saw people who weren’t human often enough that he  probably didn’t even notice anymore. Itsuki did. He was old enough to realize that watching Izuku with his two dragon buddies was creepy, and also old enough to realize that it didn’t matter. Izuku loved them, they loved him, and that was all as far as anyone else was concerned.

His mother had been so humored she had been unable to stop laughing for almost an  _hour_ when she realized that her tall, strong, alpha son had taken after  _her_ side of the family while her small, delicate, omega son had taken after their father’s side of the family. She said it made a nice balance and proved that people couldn't predict how family traits would manifest.

His mother.

His throat constricted as Kaguya held her arms out to him. At that moment it didn’t matter that Kaguya was no more human that Izuku’s dragon mates, that her natural body temperature was several degrees cooler than that of a human—he needed a hug. He needed to grieve. He cried.

“I’m glad,” Kaguya said as she rubbed his back, “that Inko managed to wrest enough of herself away to send you a message.”

What? He pulled back and looked at her as she smiled sadly at him.

“Oh yes. I knew she was dying.”

“How? When?”

“When she sent you to _me_ for your internship training,” she told Itsuki. She sighed and stood up. Like everything she did, the move was pure grace. “Come, let us speak somewhere more comfortable,” she told Itsuki as she guided him out of the room with a gentle, but firm hand before taking him to her sitting room.

T he room looked more like something Izuku would be comfortable in. Three of the walls were lined with bookshelves that were all filled with books. There were expensive oil lamps on tables in the corners, and in the center was a small round table, just big enough for two people. (Or one person and a pile of books.) Itsuki looked around the small room and, just for a moment, he missed his little brother. He wanted to be able to hold his brother so that they could grieve for their parents together. 

Kaguya ran a bell and a servant appeared, almost silently. Their ability to do that had made him jump his first few weeks in the castle. “Two teacups and a teapot please,” Kaguya said. “And whatever snacks cook doesn’t have locked up.” The servant bowed and left the room—just as silently.

Kaguya looks at Itsuki, dark eyes measuring his blue ones. “Tell me,” she ordered, “what you know of the internship training.”

“I know that when a prince, or princess, who will be succeeding the throne is coming of age, they will go visit another country to learn how that country is governed,” he said.

She nodded, as if that was what she was expecting. “There is more to it than that,” she told him. She paused as the servant (with remarkable swiftness) returned with a tray that a steaming teapot, two small teacups, and  small sandwiches. She nodded to the servant, who bowed again and left. “Help yourself,” she told the young prince.

Itsuki took one of the cups and poured tea into it before passing it to Kaguya. Perhaps she meant for him to take it first—but his parents had insisted that ladies eat first. He poured himself a cup as she took a fond sip of her tea and blew on it before taking a sip of his own. He sighed, recognizing the mixture (although Izuku would have been able to list everything in the cup), and waited, relaxing slightly.

“About fifty years ago,” Kaguya told him, “all the human kingdoms were at war with each other. They had been at war for a long time,” she added, “and I don’t think anyone truly knew _why_. However, a peace was forged by Kyou Midoriya, your grandfather. The first part of this truce was sending the children around to other kingdoms to be taught how to rule—and is, by the way, how your father met your mother.”

“You sound like you were there,” marveled Itsuki.

Kaguya took another sip of her tea. “I was. Oh, don’t look at me like that Itsuki. You and I both know that I’m not human, and there is no point in pretending otherwise. I was not a ruler back then,” she added, “but I was—keeping my eyes on things.”

Itsuki thought back to the lessons he used to get with his brother. “This isn’t something we were taught,” he said.

“Probably because Izuku doesn’t need to know,” Kaguya replied. “This may sound cold, but when he took up with the dragons he removed himself from our part of the world. It’s none of his concern what happens here now.”

“He still has family here,” whispered Itsuki.

Kaguya nodded. “Indeed. And he always  _will_ . But Izuku’s life now, for better or for worse, is in the Dragon Lands. Yours,” she added pinning him with a look, “is  _here_ . And this is not what I brought you here to speak of.” She sighed and looked at him. He took another sip of his tea and different flavors danced on his tongue with the sip. “ What this ritual began as was a way for the royalty of different kingdoms to learn about each other. As your grandfather once said, is difficult to wage war against someone you have broken bread with. Given the number of royalty that married, it became a way of sending young princes and princesses off to find mates.” She gestured to indicate the castle. “There are no mates for you here, Itsuki. Your mother sent you here because she wanted you to be  _safe_ .”

Itsuki looked at the table. He stared at the stone laid into the wood without truly seeing it. “She said they were dead,” he whispered.

“If they are not now, they soon will be,” Kaguya told him bluntly. “Naraku is like a leech of the land—he will devour everything if he is not stopped. Your parents do not have the power to stop him.” She sighed and looked at one of the books. This particular book is not leather bound paper, but pierced wooden slats woven together. “The last time Naraku was stopped it took a prophecy, the fighting dead, and an unknowable power.”

Itsuki cleared his mind like his tutors had taught him to. “What about an alliance?” he asked. She looked up at him and he met her gaze. “I,” he said, voice cracking. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I am the heir to the Midoriya throne—and there is an enemy to all who live perched in that kingdom. I want to call a Council.”

Kaguya gave a small smile. “And so,” she said, “you may.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation brews.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was typing, finished what I wanted to say, and thought: why not go ahead and post it before bed? Hope you enjoy.
> 
> (No, the story isn't over yet.)

Kagome sat on a boulder with Inu-Yasha and watched as Izuku handled a group of people. From the red decorating their belongings they were Ryoko-Sha.  From the way they were gesturing (Kagome couldn't hear the words from the distance) they were upset about something.

“Huh,” Inu-Yasha said, ears twitching as they watched the scene.

“What is it?” asked Kagome with interest. The only reason she was staying so far back was to give Izuku the space and privacy needed to deal with the—issue that the Ryoko-Sha seemed to be having.

“Something about a stolen tent. That tall guy there is claiming that a large white dragon stole his tent.”

Kagome tried to picture it—and failed. She just couldn't imagine a dragon stealing a tent. After all, what would they use it  _for_ ?

“What’s going on?”

Then again, Kagome mused, some dragons—like Izuku’s Shouto—could move almost silently. Inu-Yasha scrambled, hissing, into an attack posture while Kagome (who knew that there was  _nothing_ that could possibly hurt a human still alive in this valley) simply looked up at the red and white dragon. “They’re claiming a dragon stole a tent,” she informed him.

Shouto sighed and rubbed the small area of skin between his eyes. “I knew that idiot didn’t explain,” he muttered vaguely before winging towards Izuku and the others.

Kagome grinned. “Come on,” she urged her mate as she scrambled down the rocks towards the inevitable confrontation.

“Why?” asked Inu-Yasha warily as he followed her.

“I want to eavesdrop!”

“Is that a good idea? Dragon claws are sharp, you know.”

Kagome didn’t bother answering. Sure, if the two of them had just happened to  _barge into_ the valley, they’d have something to worry about—the two dragons were fiercely protective of it. Or, more accurately, they were fiercely protective of  _Izuku_ . Since they didn’t want anything to cause Izuku pain, and Izuku liked the two of them (well, he liked Kagome, anyway), this valley was probably the safest place in the  _world_ for the two of them right now. And she wanted to know what was going on.

“Tell him that we’ll return the tent if he returns the meat,” Shouto was saying as Kagome finally got into earshot of the conversation.

The man twitched, showing Kagome that he understood what Shouto was saying, but he waited for Izuku to repeat it. Kagome had seen people act that way towards Inu-Yasha before, and her eyes narrowed. She didn’t tolerate the behavior well—but she was curious to see how Izuku would respond.

Izuku merely looked up at his mate. “Meat?” he asked.

Shouto leaned over and put a possessive arm around the human as he glared at the interlopers. “Katsuki traded  three bison for the tent in question,” he said.

Kagome blinked in surprise. She mentally reviewed what she knew of the white and gold dragon—and still couldn't come up with a reason for him to want a tent. Maybe for Izuku?

Izuku blinked. “The tent  _under our bed_ ?” he asked. Shouto nodded and Izuku turned to the  people. “There,” he said. “The tent wasn’t stolen—it was traded for.”

The man flushed. “We want the tent back.”

“You’re not getting it,” Izuku replied firmly. 

Kagome snickered at the look on the man’s face. Clearly he was expecting something like that from the  _dragon_ , but not from Izuku. After all, Izuku was half the man’s size and width, and looked like a strong breeze would break him. However, Izuku was stronger than he looked.  The man had clearly intended to use his size to intimidate the boy—but the dragon was right there.

“What do you mean?” asked the man with an uneasy glance towards Shouto. Kagome couldn't see from her angle, but she believed the dragon was glaring at him.

“My mate—my _other_ mate, traded three bison for the tent.”

“That was not a fair trade.”

“No, it wasn’t,” agreed Izuku to the surprise of the others in the valley. “Bison,” he continued, “are difficult for humans to hunt.” The man blinked as he went on and Kagome felt a wicked grin split her face. “They roam areas that humans tend to find inhospitable—able to survive because of their thick coats. The same thick coats,” he added ruthlessly, “that are shaved off the hide to be woven into clothes, bedding, and even new tents while the hide itself is carefully tanned and used to create shoes. A thrifty tribe and use the bones as tools, the hooves can be melted down into glue, and the meat, of course, can be eaten. Three bison, properly prepared, can feed a tribe of your size for, oh, four or five weeks. Given that it takes three days for a tent to be woven, another for it to be bleached, and yet a fifth for the tent to be dyed red—you clearly owe us.”

“Owe—” The man’s face scrunched up as he tried to follow what Izuku was saying.

“But, I’m a generous person. I’ll give you a choice.”

“Choice?”

Izuku continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “You can work the valley for me, for three weeks, or you can leave and tell other tribes that we’ll welcome people looking to settle. Your choice.”

It could have gone either way. The man could have capitulated cowardly or attacked enraged. The strained silence is broken an old woman in the group who cackles a laugh. She hobbled, helped by two children, up to Izuku. “Too clever you are by half,” she said cheerfully. “And the plains are  _hard_ on folk. Must be plenty that wish they could live here, eh?” she asked with a saucy wink.

Izuku managed to bow, despite the dragon holding him. “As you say, My Lady,” he said gallantly and with a wink of his own.

The old woman cackled again before turned and whacking the man on the arm and yelling at him in their private language. The man turned to Izuku with a sour look on his face. “We will—we will spread the word,” he said reluctantly. Izuku merely smiled as they turned to head out through the same path they came in.

“You sure about this Izuku?” asked Shouto quietly.

“I’m going to need help with the plants, sooner or later,” Izuku told his mate firmly, gently rubbing his slightly rounding belly. 

“So, where is old Temper?” asked Inu-Yasha. “I’m surprised they made it into the valley.”

Shouto frowned. “An emergency Council was called,” he told their guests. “Katsuki went instead.”

“Because you went last time?” Kagome asked curiously as she watched the Ryoko-Sha file slowly out of the valley. 

“For some reason,” Shouto said, “Katsuki thinks he understands humans better than I do.” The two of them turned to head back to their living cave.

Inu-Yasha jumped down from his perch to help Kagome slide to the ground. “Well, I’m impressed,” he said. “Last time someone took that tone with Kagome a head almost got split.”

“He deserved it,” muttered Kagome. “You never should have taken that rock from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curiosity eats at me: do you think Katsuki is right? Or are both of them equally clueless, just in different ways?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the council meeting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not a long chapter. I just wanted to show what's going on at the Council meeting. Enjoy!

The other dragons in the room kept glancing at Katsuki. It was getting on his nerves the way they were acting. It was like they were waiting for him to lose his temper or do something stupid.

His mother was the worst. “Katsuki,” she had greeted him with a frown, “what are you doing here? Where’s Shouto?”

“He’s with Deku,” Katsuki had said. He had reigned in his temper, with effort. “He came last time.”

His  and mother frowned. “He  _should_ be here this time.” She looked worried.

Katsuki had snorted as he remembered the incident about the tent. “Trust me,” he  had told his mother. “Shouto knows less about humans than you think he does.”

He was actually glad that he came instead of Shouto. The Council was called because of Itsuki, Izuku’s older brother, who wanted help to kill Naraku. Katsuki wasn’t sure what Shouto’s reaction would  _be_ , but he knew that  _he_ was all in favor of that rope-haired bastard’s death.

One of the other members of the council, a thick, short man that reeked of some kind of artificial scent (he thanked Thunder Deku didn’t like  _any_ artificial scents) spoke up after Itsuki’s speech. “ If everyone is dead,” the man demanded, “then how is the kingdom functioning?”

“Naraku can control the dead.” The words, laced with bitterness at watching his mate almost _die_ , dropped into the room and Katsuki became the center of attention. He shrugged. “The Child of the Well is still staying with us, _checking up on_ my mate because you lot were nervous.” His mother cleared her throat and he abandoned that argument. The important thing to remember was Naraku. “She and her mate have tangled with Naraku before,” he added.

“Her _mate_ is there?” shrieked the thick man.

“Did you _expect_ a mated omega to travel Thunder knows how far away _without_ her mate?” Katsuki demanded. Enji coughed lightly and Katsuki whirled to see—he was suppressing a smile?

“Her mate,” ranted the thick man, “is a monster that doesn’t have much self control at all!”

Katsuki would have been offended, would have felt the need to defend Inu-Yasha—but he’d heard it all before. Mostly about himself, and he knew he had heaps more self-control than anyone believed. After all, the thick man was still alive and not dying a slow and painful death on the tips of Katsuki’s talons.

“Are you insulting one of the heroes of my kingdom?” demanded a woman. He vaguely recognized her—this one had been around the castle one or two times when he was visiting Deku. The woman rapped her fan against the edge of the table she was sitting at, sharply. “Well?” she demanded as she glared at the thick man.

The thick man began to sweat and stammer nervously. Katsuki watched with interest; he’d never seen mere  _words_ reduce someone to a pile of blubbering incoherency before. He wondered if Izuku could do it, and if Izuku would be willing to teach him how. 

The woman looked around the room, cowing the other humans beneath her gaze. “In case,” she said tartly, “you’ve all forgotten, the Child of the Well saved my kingdom—and no few of yours,” she added with a low growl.

“But—to say that someone controls the dead—”

“You got a better explanation for how soldiers can march along a border without needing to breathe?” Katsuki asked the thick man. “I’d love to hear it.”

Itsuki leaned forwards and, for a moment, Katsuki could almost swear he was looking at Toshinari. “This is  _enough_ ,” Itsuki said firmly. He may have looked like Toshinari, but his voice was all his own and he stared through his golden locks at the other humans. “Naraku is a disease we need to kill to save ourselves.” Then Itsuki, the human had pretty much avoided the dragons when they were young, looked at Katsuki. “Do you agree?” he asked.

Katsuki’s lip curled. “Fuck yeah!”


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, back at the castle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter is (also) a bit short, but also dark. More than a bit. If you don't want to read dark, I'll have summary at the bottom for you.

Inko raged against the chains holding her to the wall. She had far more strength than before she died, but still not enough. Not enough to escape the chains holding her and certainly not enough to kill the monster.

_Naraku_ .

The name raged around her brain even as she rejected him. She wanted to kill him, to destroy him, to make sure he could  _never_ get close to her children again… 

“Interesting.” The monster himself walked closer to her, stopping just outside of reach. “You’re the second dead I haven’t been able to control,” he added. “I thought I couldn't control the last one,” he admitted, “because she died outside of my influence. But you,” his eyes narrowed at the former queen lashing against the chains, “you certainly died under my influence. I should have complete control of you.”

Inko laughed, the sound echoing through the dark dungeon. “Control?” she asked viciously. “You think you have control here?” She laughed again.

“Mouthy little thing, aren’t you?” asked Naraku absently as he looked at her. “Odd...most of them aren’t. Then again,” he added, “most of them don’t have anything left of who they were.” 

“Maybe you haven’t dealt with enough royalty!” snarled Inko as she lunged again.

“Oh, but I have.” Naraku raised a hand in a gesture and Toshinari—or the thing that _used_ to be Toshinari—slumped forward. The skin was wrapped tight around the bones and it was clearly having trouble moving. “Yours is not the first kingdom I have taken.” The monster smiled. “But it should be the last one I need.”

“You’ll never get it Naraku,” said Inko.

“Oh, but I will. Did you know your firstborn son has called a Council to try and get all the kingdoms and clans to attack me? Well,” he said with a light chuckle, “to attack what’s left of Midoriya?”

“I hope they kill you,” snarled Inko.

He chuckled again, as though she’d told a joke. “They’ll never do it,” he said confidently. “Even  _if_ he could get all the humans against me—and he can’t—he’d never get the support of the Dragon Lands.”

Inko laughed again. “With Izuku?” she demanded. “Their first-ever dragon doctor? Mate to the two strongest dragons born in four generations? The mate,” she continued viciously, “that  _you_ attacked and tried to kill. I think they’ll be more than  _happy_ to remove the threat you are!”

“They’ll be too busy keeping a happy nest,” Naraku said. “Haven’t you heard? Their _mate_ is pregnant.”

“Oh, I heard,” Inko said as she grinned. “Pity you don’t know as much about dragons as you do about humans. If I know those boys, they won’t rest until you have been destroyed.”

Naraku paused, and to Inko’s surprise he looked interested. “Really?” he asked with a cold, calculating look on his face. “You think they’ll abandon the nest just to try and kill me?” Suddenly he smiled. “What a  _lovely_ idea. Perhaps I don’t  _need_ to abandon my original plan.” He turned to leave, but stopped to add, “After all, mothers will do  _anything_ to protect their young.” He left the dungeon—and the animated corpse of Toshinari.

Now that she was dead, Inko couldn't cry. She sank to the floor of the dungeon, staring at the fitted stones beneath her as grief washed through her, just as strong as the earlier rage.

_Izuku, oh Izuku, I am so sorry_ , she thought.  _I didn’t mean to turn his attention towards you again…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inko has died and is a reanimated corpse that Naraku can't control. In the process of taunting him about how he's going to get everyone coming to kill him soon (something she desperately hopes will happen soon) she accidentally gives him the seeds of a new plan to get his hands on Izuku.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people come to settle the Valley, and we learn more about what's going on in Midoriya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izuku gets villagers! Yay! They're even farmers! :)

Izuku watched the small band of humans as they shuffled nervously. Unlike the  Ryoko-Sha, this group wasn’t carrying or wearing a majority of bright red items—but they  _were_ familiar. They were wearing the same kind of clothes that the farmers back in Midoriya wore—and there was a pinched anxiousness in their expressions that hurt. Probably because, for once, the expression wasn’t directed at the dragon beside him, but at himself.

“We heard,” the spokesman, an elderly man, said warily with hope and resignation warring over his weather-scarred features, “that you were looking for people to settle the valley?”

Izuku indicated the raised rows of plants to his left as Shouto’s arm tightened slightly around his shoulders. “I’m growing medicinal plants,” he told them, “and I’m pregnant.”

The spokesman nodded. “Aye—I can see where that would hamper things.  We’re more than willing to grow and harvest your plants for ya, but we’ll need taught on how to store them.”

Izuku smiled. “I’ll be more than happy to teach you,” he said.

The group relaxed and one of the young women burst out sobbing as another comforted her. “ It’s been a long journey,” the man said wearily. “Would you and your—mate be kind enough to show us where we can build homes?”

The white and red Fuyumi suddenly descended on the group, startling the humans. Izuku thought it was a positive sign that while they were startled, none of them were  _afraid_ . “I can do it!” she said waving her hand. She paused and brightened again. “And the other two can help!”

Not entirely sure what Fuyumi had in mind, Izuku gave her his blessing and she shot back into the air to collect  the other two dragons—who had yet to leave. Izuku wasn’t certain, but it seemed as though Eijiro and Mina were deferring to Katsuki and Shouto as higher members of the same dragon clan. He made a mental note to ask Shouto how his meeting with the Aizawa chief went.

“Other two?” asked the spokesman.

Izuku nodded. “I’m a dragon doctor. There are more dragons than just my mates.”

The spokesman relaxed, just a tiny bit more. “Nothing will mess with dragons,” he said.

Shouto met the man’s gaze squarely with his own. “Never twice,” he agreed.

Fuyumi and Mina dropped to the ground beside them. “I’m thinking, corner of the valley over there,” Fuyumi said as she pointed.

Izuku looked at the land—relatively flat, didn’t currently have crops or trees on it, and too stony to properly farm (which was probably why neither Shouto nor Katsuki had put crops or trees there). “Looks good to me,” he said as Eijiro took off flying overhead.

“He’s going to get trees. We’re not cutting down _any_ in the valley,” Fuyumi added as she pinned the humans with a glare. A few of them wilted—but most just nodded. “Then let’s get moving!” she said brightly. “Race you there!”

“Ah, hey, no fair!” cried Mina as Fuyumi took to the air. She followed crying out, “You got a head start!”

To Izuku’s surprise the few that had been nervous chuckled. Pleased at the reaction, he grinned at the group. “If you want to have any say in what the homes look like,” he advised them, “I suggest you get over there now.”

Most of the group took off and he watched as the twenty some-odd people (minus the spokesman) went to the part of the valley indicated at varying speeds.  The spokesman looked at Izuku. “I don’t know if any more of us made it out alive,” he said.

“What happened?” Izuku asked.

“A bunch of soldiers just rounded up the village one day,” the spokesman said grimly. “We was all out—or we’d have been taken too.” The man paused and shifted. “I’m not sure what happened,” he admitted. “The soldiers cut the people—not to kill them, but to put this weird, clear thick stuff in the cuts.”

Shouto suddenly tensed and Izuku looked at his dragon. He was staring ahead, but not as if he was seeing the scenery and he wondered what Shouto was thinking. He couldn't ask yet, though.

The spokesman began to sweat despite the mild climate. “They began—screaming, convulsing. And the soldiers—they just stood there and  _watched_ . But that wasn’t the worst, oh no.”

“What was?” asked Izuku gently. He thought, from conversations with Kagome and Inu-Yasha, that he knew what was—but he had to be sure. 

“When they—” the spokesman swallowed. “When they got back up again. Dead, deader than doorknobs the whole lot of them—but they was _moving_.” He shuddered. “So when the soldiers left—so did we. We ran to the dragon lands and caravan of Ryoko-Sha told us there was a valley looking for settlers. And here we are.”

“And here you are,” agreed Izuku. His heart twisted as he tried to think of how _many_ people the soldiers had descended on and turned into—into Naraku’s puppets. When the elderly man was out of earshot he whispered, “I think they’re all dead now.”

“There’s nothing,” Shouto said with firm fierceness, “that you could have done. Nothing!”

Izuku leaned into his touch and rested his head against the dragon’s chest. “I know,” he told his mate. “It’s still—it’s still sad.” 

Shouto’s hand gently ran through Izuku’s hair. “I know,” he told his mate gently. “I know.”

The two turned and walked back towards the living gave when Shouto stopped. He saw Kagome, standing on a rock, motionless except for the wind ruffling her hair and clothes, staring out at the distance. The sight reminded him eerily of Kikyo standing in the snow, bow and arrows out as she stared into the distance. “Something wrong?” he asked warily.

“Something’s on the wind,” Kagome said absently, still staring. “But it’s not here yet…”

“ _There is something in the wind, but it is not yet here.”_

The two sentences were practically identical, but made by two very different people. Shouto felt an odd chill up his spine as he watched Kagome, the Child of the Well, stare at the horizon in the exact same position as the healer Kikyo had and with the exact same expression. He realized he knew—nothing about what being a Child of the Well actually meant—or what the young woman’s relationship with Kikyo was.

Kagome turned and grinned at Izuku, breaking the spell. She nimbly leaped down from the rock she’d been standing on and faced him. “I heard that,” she told him. “I think you’ve got some real leadership skills hiding in that hair of yours.” She reached over and ruffled Izuku’s green hair.

For some reason Kagome’s easy affection towards Izuku didn’t bother Shouto. He never questioned why. Izuku flushed slightly under the praise and Shouto smiled. It was odd, seeing his mate so easy with another human—but the two of them had become friends, somehow, despite having been practically thrown in together.

“So the humans are staying, huh?” asked Inu-Yasha coming up behind Kagome. His eyes were watching the activity in the valley thoughtfully and his ears twitched. He had his hands buried in the robe and almost looked like a statue. 

“Unless _you_ want to start farming,” Kagome teased lightly. Inu-Yasha just snorted.

The half human nodded towards the human. “You hunting meat for them too?”

“ _They_ ,” Shouto said with dignity, “have _sheep_. They can eat _those_.”

“Probably not until the flock’s back up to full strength,” mused Izuku. “Shouto, where _are_ the sheep?”

Shouto looked around and saw dragons dividing lumber as a third dragon brought the lumber. Humans talking animatedly to the dragons. A couple of small black and white barking things running around the humans—but no sheep. He groaned. How hard was it to keep track of sheep? He let go of Izuku and spread his wings. “I’m on it,” he growled as he left to round up the missing sheep.

Inu-Yasha watched him go. “I don’t like that Naraku’s active again,” he told Izuku. 

Izuku felt his heart squeeze. “I don’t either.”

Inu-Yasha’s ears twitched. “I  _also_ ,” he added firmly, “don’t like that the only two people Naraku has made a concerted effort to get happen to be in this little valley.”

Kagome sighed. “Inu-Yasha,” she said, “I told you it was a coincidence.”

“Maybe.” He looked at his mate. “But Naraku’s a sly old dog Kagome, and I don’t like how open this valley is.” He looked around and then snorted. “I’ll talk to your mates about it Izuku. Maybe we can make things more secure if things get worse.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katsuki comes back from Council to fill Shouto and Inu-Yasha in on what was discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm off tonight? *I* can tell I'm off tonight. I'm not even stuck at the computer--I just want to get this done so everyone can read the ending. :)

Katsuki blinked as he saw Shouto was—catching white, fluffy meat? Actually, that meat looked disturbingly familiar… He banked and landed near the other dragon automatically reaching out and grabbing one of the things. He would have killed it, but…then he looked at it again. A sheep. “What the fuck?” he demanded.

Shouto sighed as he stopped moving. The other sheep, which had been dodging every which way, slowly settled down.  He glared at them. “The valley has humans.”

“Humans? Why?”

“Izuku said he’s going to need help with the herbs when the baby gets bigger.”

Katsuki remembered frantically running around trying to keep his mate from doing too much when Shouto was away at Council—so he didn’t make any snide remarks. “Maybe he’ll slow down,” he mused.

Shouto snorted and a sheep leaped away. “I doubt it,” he said. “What happened at Council?”

“Itsuki wants the humans and dragons to go to war to destroy Naraku.”

Shouto didn’t remember Izuku’s older brother very well. “And?”

“And I agree. It pisses me off that the bastard is still breathing after all the shit he’s done to Deku. And Deku’s family,” Katsuki added as an afterthought. 

Shouto frowned—but he also agreed with Katsuki. “What about his parents?”

Katsuki shook his head. “According to Itsuki, their parents are dead.” He looked at Shouto who grimaced and nodded. “So—we go to war.” He returned the grimace. “The old hag doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not sure she’s going to help.”

“Maybe she’ll guard the valley.” 

The two dragons turned to stare at Inu-Yasha, who had managed to sneak up on them. The sheep didn’t even twitch. “ How do you  _do_ that?”

Inu-Yasha snorted. “Comes from a childhood of being hunted.”

“Humans were hunting you?”

“Them too. Look,” he said changing the subject, “I heard what you said. You’re going to attack Naraku—yeah,” he said when they opened their mouths, “I get it. He’s a plague that needs wiped out. I also get that you think the three dragons here—”

“We have three dragons here?”

“Are a match for Naraku,” Inu-Yasha continued, ignoring the interruption. “They’re not. They’re not a match for _me_ , and _I’m_ not a match for Naraku.” He glared at both of them. “If we leave the valley, there won’t be anything stopping Naraku from just reaching in and getting them.”

“We?” asked Shouto, eyes narrowed at Inu-Yasha.

“We.” Inu-Yasha smiled grimly. “He’s put Kagome through at least as much as your Izuku—and I want him dead as much as you do.”

“Hold up.” Katsuki said. He looked at Shouto as the sheep milled about eating grass. “We have three dragons?”

“Mina, Eijiro, and Fuyumi are still here.”

Katsuki glared at him. “The fuck for? Mina’s healed enough to go back to her clan!”

Shouto looked down. “About that…”

“About what?” demanded Katsuki as Inu-Yasha watched with interest.

Shouto took a deep breath and sighed. “Katsuki,  _we’re_ a clan.”

“What?”

“You, me, and Izuku. We’re a clan.”

“Okay…” He felt like Shouto was telling him something obvious, something he just wasn’t grasping.

“Aizawa left Mina and Eijiro here.”

“Okay…”

“With our _clan_ ,” Shouto stressed.

As Katsuki looked at him blankly Inu-Yasha snickered. “He’s saying you got saddled with two useless  ass dragons in your pack,” Inu-Yasha translated.

Katsuki’s talons released the sheep before he killed it and it milled off—seemingly unaware that it was a few moments away from death. “We  _what_ ?” he demanded. The undercurrent of a growl in the two words made the sheep shy away and he fought his instincts down hard.

Shouto frowned. “They’re not exactly useless,” he said slowly. “Izuku’s been training them, with Fuyumi’s help.”

“For what?”

“To carry wounded dragons for treatment.”

Katsuki went perfectly still as he thought about that. “Deku knows there’s a war coming,” he stated.

“Probably.”

“He knows there will be dragons in the war.”

“Likely.”

“Fuck.” Katsuki buried his face in hands. “Do you realize what this means?” he demanded of the other two alphas. “This means we can’t leave him in the valley, safe and protected, because _he won’t stay_. He’s determined to help.”

“Shit,” swore Inu-Yasha. “And I just bet Kagome will be right there with him.”

The three stared at each other, wondering how they were going to keep their mates safe in upcoming conflict. As they were wracking their brains, a human with a dog came down the mountain. She nodded nervously to the three of them. “Excuse me,” she said warily before giving the dog a hand gesture. The dog effortlessly and gracefully herded the sheep back up the mountain and into the valley.

Katsuki summed up all three alphas’ feelings on the matter. “I fucking hate sheep,” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Katsuki. Me too.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome and Izuku are talking when Mitsuki and Enji arrive to deliver some bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--a little hint at how Katsuki's powers affect other dragons. (And yes, for those who didn't get it from the cradle Katsuki is fire/lightning while Shouto is fire/ice. Because I said so.)

“How did your talk with Inu-Yasha go?” Izuku asked Kagome when they were alone. By common consent the two were sitting on the path that connected the two caves, rather than in one or the other. Being in each other’s space felt too—personal for either of them to deal with right now, while Izuku was pregnant and Kagome was hoping to be.

She sighed. “You were right,” she told him. “He’s terrified of the thought of me getting pregnant.”

Izuku had thought that might be the case. It was incredibly rare for an omega’s heat not to sync up with the alpha’s rut after bonding. “Take your time,” he advised. His ears perked up at the sound of wing-beats—but his hearing wasn’t sensitive enough to tell which dragon was coming so he scanned the sky. 

“Who’s that?” asked Kagome with curiosity.

“It’s Mitsuki and Enji,” Izuku said as he easily identified the two older dragons. 

“Oh, he’s the dragon that brought Inu-Yasha and me here,” Kagome said as the two dragons got closer. They landed in front of the two humans. 

“Izuku,” Mitsuki said, all seriousness, “we need to talk about the Council meeting.”

He blinked. “Katsuki isn’t back yet,” he said.

Enji grimaced, an alien expression on his face as Mitsuki laughed. “It’s just as well,” she told him.

“Perhaps Shouto can teach him how to hold his tongue,” mused Enji.

“It didn’t end _poorly_ ,” Mitsuki replied.

Enji mantled nervously as his talons clenched and released the rocks at his feet. “It could have,” he protested.

“What happened?” asked Izuku.

Mitsuki took a deep breath. “Izuku—your parents are dead,” she said gently. 

Izuku looked at the ground. He’d been expecting this, every since Shouto had said what his parents looked like at the last Council meeting. He wouldn't cry. The fact that the other two clan chiefs were talking to  _him_ about it instead of waiting for  his alphas meant that  _he_ was considered the chief of their clan. He wouldn't cry. He—would—not—cry!

“Fucking hag!” snarled Katsuki as he glided in and landed next to his mate, curling him close with a wing as he glared at his mother. “What did you do to Deku!”

“Attend to your mate,” Mitsuki ordered sharply. Katsuki took a step towards her with little sparks dancing in the air around him when Izuku reached for him. Katsuki stepped back and hugged Izuku close to him. Mitsuki let out a little breath as the sparks vanished. “He just learned his parents have died.”

E nji and Mitsuki glanced at each other as Katsuki cuddled Izuku close and Shouto came winging in. Neither of them had missed the interaction.  A glance at Kagome showed that she hadn’t missed it either. “What’s wrong?” Shouto asked. 

“The fucking hag has no tact,” snarled Katsuki. Shouto reached into the circle of arms and wings (the only one who could and _not_ lose said arm), and gently rubbed Izuku’s back. 

Izuku popped his head out of the small gave that Katsuki had created. “I’m okay,” he said taking a deep breath. “I’m okay and—oh, God, is Itsuki going  _home_ ?” The boy sounded panicked.

“No. He called the Council.”

“Your brother wants to rage war with Naraku,” Katsuki told him.

S houto frowned. “I think it’s ‘wage’,” he corrected.

Remembering the figure in the Council meeting Katsuki shook his head. “I’m pretty sure it’s ‘rage’.”

“Naraku has the castle.” Izuku’s voice was calm, his face intent as he watched the two older dragons. They shifted. 

“Yes,” admitted Mitsuki.

Izuku took a deep breath and slowly released it, still held by his two alphas as he looked up at the activity happening across the valley. “That’s not good.”

“He wants the dragons to form a united front so that Naraku can be surrounded by all sides,” Katsuki explained.

Izuku’s eyes stared ahead without seeing anything. By this point all the people in the area knew that he was thinking hard. “I’m not sure that’s possible,” Izuku said finally. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuun!
> 
> Seriously, I was trying not to do cliffhangers, but I'm posting pretty regularly so I didn't think anyone would mind too much.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get more insight into the world and perhaps a glimpse of what Naraku really wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About a medium sized chapter, and I hope everyone enjoys it. :)

Izuku hadn’t wanted any of the humans in the valley to accidentally overhear anything, so they were in one of the patient caves. Inu-Yasha and Kagome were there—because Kagome was just as stubborn as Izuku was and he recognized that. Besides, she might have some insight  that might help. He didn’t know, so she could stay.

Fuyumi brought a couple of spare logs for Inu-Yasha and Kagome to use as seats and then saluted Izuku before winging out of the cavern. He wasn’t sure what he thought of Fuyumi deferring to him the way that Eijiro and Mina deferred to Katsuki and Shouto—but it wasn’t important. He shoved the shifting dynamics of his clan out of his head as he looked at the two older dragons. He was sitting partially on his two alphas, who seemed more comfortable both being able to touch him.

“To explain,” Izuku said slowly, “I have to talk about history. Human history,” he added, knowing this wasn’t likely something the dragons would know about. More specifically—my grandfather.” Izuku looked down and bit his lip. When his father had told him about it, to prevent Izuku from accidentally activating it, he’d told Izuku to never tell. But—his father was dead.

“Izuku,” Shouto’s voice was gentle as the dragon gently rubbed Izuku’s back. “You don’t have to do this right now.”

“It’s not—it’s not what you think,” Izuku replied as he took a deep breath. He stared at the dark gray stone beneath his feet before he continued. “When my grandfather was young, the human kingdoms were at war with each other. He was determined to stop it.” Izuku still didn’t know if his grandfather had done the right thing—but it had worked. He looked up at the others. “He built a weapon.”

Enji frowned. “A lot of humans build weapons.”

Izuku laughed weakly. “Not like this one,” he assured them. “To prove it worked—he created the Daku Trench.” The Daku Trench was a single cut in the land that spanned across three different countries.

Inu-Yasha gave a low, impressed whistle. Kagome leaned forward on her log. “So—he just blackmailed the whole world?” she asked.

“Just the human part of it,” Izuku assured her.

“Can Itsuki use this thing?” asked Shouto with a frown.

“No. He takes after Mom’s side of the family that way. The only reason _I_ know about it is because Dad—Dad was afraid I might make it accidentally go off.”

“Hold on,” Kagome said with a frown. “What does that mean? I thought your brother looked like your father.”

“He does,” Izuku started—and then remembered. Kagome wasn’t _from_ this world—she wouldn't know. “Humans have two sets of inheritance here Kagome. One is appearance and the other is—ability.”

M itsuki chimed in. “Human abilities seem to be passed down, parent to child. Dragon abilities are—more spontaneous.” Katsuki snorted.

“I always liked Mom’s ability,” Izuku said absently as he gently tugged the edge of his shirt. “She can talk to birds, or leave messages with them. It was nice.” It was also the only way he’d been able to get out of the castle—if the birds his Mom had raised hadn’t been there he never would have been able to send a letter to his dragons…

“So, what was your dad’s ability?” asked Inu-Yasha.

Izuku winced. He knew the subject had to be brought up—but he didn’t like talking about his ability. It had nothing to do with  _healing_ . Katsuki leaned in closer to cuddle Izuku a little more before addressing Inu-Yasha.  _He_ knew. They  _both_ knew. “The important thing,” Katsuki said, “is that the ability can only be used by  _one_ person at a time. The moment someone is born with it, it’s gone from the original person that had it.”

“So Naraku is sitting on a weapon that can destroy entire _countries_ , and the only person who can activate it is in this room,” Inu-Yasha summed up. “Well,” he added, “now we know why Naraku wants him.”

Kagome frowned. “All right,” she said thoughtfully, “let’s assume Naraku wants Izuku because he can make this weapon—whatever it is—work. Why does he want the weapon?” She looked around and added, “Don’t get me wrong—Naraku’s an evil bastard—but he always has a reason.”

“World domination?” asked Mitsuki.

Kagome grimaced. “Seems too—too tame for him. This is the thing that tried to become a  _god_ . I’m not sure the mere world has enough power for him.”  Inu-Yasha nodded somberly as he watched them all. She sighed and looked down. “We’re missing something,” she said.

“Kagome,” asked Shouto, “just what _is_ a ‘Child of the Well’? What does that mean?”

“I grew up in another world,” Kagome said. “One day I fell into the well in the backyard—and came out in another one here.” She shrugged.

“Kagome,” Inu-Yasha continued wryly, “also has a few abilities of her own. There is no kind of mind control that will work on her, and she can shoot Blessed Arrows.”

Kagome frowned. “I’m not sure that has to do with the well though,” she said thoughtfully.

“Well, they sure as hell didn’t just show up out of nowhere,” Inu-Yasha said with a shrug. “I’ve met your family, remember? Nice people—and not a lick of power in any of them.”

“I’ll have you know,” Kagome growled out, “that I come from a long line of priests and priestesses!”

“So Kagome is immune to Naraku’s powers and Deku can fire a weapon that exists under the castle,” Katsuki summarized before the two could get to bickering again.

“What will we do?” mused Mitsuki. She looked at Izuku. He looked frail—but that could just be because he was sitting between two young, strong dragons. Like his alphas she wanted to lock him up in the valley and protect him—and, like them, knew that he wouldn't stand for it. Izuku was far too much like his mother.

“We’ll have to consult with the other chiefs and pass the information along,” Mitsuki said firmly.

“We’ll come back to discus what you want to do, Izuku,” Enji told them before the two adult dragons winged out of the cave.

“Why Izuku?” asked Inu-Yasha, ears twitching.

Kagome sighed, as though he was being unbelievably dense. “Because,” she explained, “Izuku is the clan chief.”


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku gets an apprentice! (Come on Inu-Yasha fans--did you really think she wouldn't make an appearance?)

Deciding to go to war and actually  _doing_ it were two entirely different things.  First—the attack had to be simultaneous. It had to come from all sides at once— or Naraku would have a way to escape. According to Kagome and Inu-Yasha, that was how he had escaped before.

While they were deciding the absolute best way to make sure that Naraku wouldn't escape, Izuku was preparing for a different type of war altogether. He strode through his storage cavern, deciding how much of each type of medicine he had.

The village spokesman came up to Izuku as he was calculating  whether it would be more economical to move the medicine mixed—and risk needing something he hadn’t mixed later—or see if another dragon could be spared to haul it to the battlefield. The gathered ingredients, in their separate cases, were too much for Katsuki, Shouto, Fuyumi, Eijiro, and Mina alone—even if they were in full dragon form.

“I mean no disrespect,” the man said warily as he watched Izuku scribble in the notebook. None of the farmers were literate—and few of the dragons, for that matter. “One of the women wants to see ye.”

“Just one moment,” Izuku scribbled the ending calculation and frowned at the answer he’d come up with. He knew the math was right, but where was he going to find another four dragons to carry his supplies? He set the question to the back of his mind and looked at the spokesman again. “Yes?” he asked.

The man swallowed. Izuku had no idea why he was so nervous. “One of the women would like to see ye,” he repeated slowly.

“All right.” Izuku closed the notebook, tucked the glass pen in the pocket, and followed the spokesman towards the little village that had sprung up with the help three dragons. On the way he conversationally asked, “How is the harvest going?”

“You’ll have another two bags of the fuzzy leaves by sunset—and we’re harvesting to your orders, no need to be concerned there.”

“Good,” said Izuku with satisfaction. Those leaves would save a lot of lives on the battlefield. In one way, he hoped it would be soon (so the plants wouldn't have time to wilt) and in another he hoped it would be a long time in coming (because he didn’t want his mates to go into danger). 

“None of that odd fruit you want harvested is ripe yet,” the man continued drolly as they walked. The village was on the far side of the valley and honestly—Izuku could move faster if he wanted. Still, the old man seemed to be in no real hurry, so Izuku didn’t believe that the woman wanted to see him for an emergency. So as they walked he listened to the farmer tell him the state of the harvest of everything that was being produced in the valley. 

When they got to the village the villagers carefully greeted him; wary, as though they weren’t certain what to make of him. For his part, Izuku wasn’t certain what to make of the attitude of the villagers. They acted like he was going to order their heads chopped off at any moment.

The homes that the villagers and the dragons had built looked like fallen trees with the branches woven together that had rough spaces cut out for doors and windows. He wasn’t entirely certain, but given that dragons had helped build the village, that may have been exactly what happened. Aside from carving out caves for bad weather, dragons didn’t tend to do a lot of building.

“Rin!” the spokesman called out.

A girl ran out of one of the houses and she looked up at Izuku. Her freckled face was flushed in the daylight and she watched him just as warily as the others did. “You wanted to talk to me?” Izuku asked with a gentle smile.

“I—yes,” she admitted. “Do you—mind if we go inside?” Izuku nodded and followed the child inside. She seemed to be younger than he originally thought.

Compared to the caves, which were lit through dragon magic, the house was very dark. It took Izuku a few moments for his eyes to adjust after he went in.  Rin took a seat on a set of blankets and gestured to another set. Izuku followed and sat on the other set. “ I need a medicine that will hold off my heat,” the child said.

Izuku looked down and bit his lip to keep from laughing in the girl’s face. There must be a reason she was asking for it. He took a deep, shuddering breath and then looked at the child again. “You,”  he said looking at her, “haven’t even presented yet. There’s no way to tell what you  _are_ , if you’ll even  _have_ heats, and no reason for you to need a medicine to hold them off. Why am I really here, Rin?”

She frowned. “That  _is_ why you’re here.” At the look on his face she explained, “Some of the women here are omegas and they’re terrified about going into their heat without their alphas. I heard the dragons talking, and figured out that  _you_ know something that can help.”

Izuku wondered how that conversation had gone. “Where are their alphas?” he asked curiously.

“Dead.” The girl’s response was flat and unemotional.

He winced. He kept forgetting that th ese people were the survivors of a massacre that killed everyone else in their original village. “Listen,” he told the child, “I can’t just give you the medicine. There are things that need to be taken into account; if the person is taking other medication, what their general health is—things like that.”

The child drooped. “But they don’t want you to know who they are,” she muttered.

He had no idea why, but that wasn’t important. These people were, at least for now, under his protection. They also needed medicine. “I have an idea,” he said thoughtfully. “Rin, what do you  _do_ for the village?”

She frowned. “I use the dogs to herd the sheep,” she said.

“Can someone else do that?” Izuku asked. When she nodded he smiled. “Great!”

“Great?”

“Rin, you are now officially my apprentice,” Izuku told her. He looked at the child who had probably never learned to read or wrote and added, “And we have a lot of work to do.” He heaved himself to his feet and said, “Come on.”

Curious, she followed him as he left the house and walked up to the spokesman. “Well, after talking to Rin it’s decided,” he told the man. The man blinked slowly, confused. “Rin’s going to be my apprentice, and learn how to make medicines.” He could tell, from the looks he was getting, which of the villagers were the ones that were going to need the heat medicine—but like he told Rin, if they wouldn't talk to him he couldn't prescribe it. There was too much that could go wrong.

“Apprentice?” asked the spokesman as he looked at the girl.

“I already asked what job she does, and there are others that can do it,” Izuku explained.

“Aye…”

“So, since I need help, and she’s willing to learn, she’s my apprentice. Come on, Rin,” he gently ordered as they head back up the valley towards where Izuku and his dragons lived. He watched her struggle to keep up with him. “Do you need to move closer to where I’m living?” he asked her.

“Probably best if I don’t,” she told him. “If I’m too far away I won’t be able to help.”

Izuku felt a smile spread across his face. The girl was already thinking about what she wanted to do to help. That was good; it showed she had the right kind of mind to be a doctor. Now all he had to do was figure out how to teach her while preparing for war…


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shouto, Eijiro, and Inu-Yasha go for more reinforcements...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not quite what I originally intended to put here--but what happened anyway. Meh, it fits. Hope everyone enjoys!

Inu-Yasha’s ears twitched as he looked at the house. It looked like all of the other houses in the village. It was on stilts, in case the river flooded. It had a straw thatched roof, to protect it from weather. The only thing that made it different were the people that lived in it. Well,  _live_ was a vague term… 

“You do understand why it’s important to have more healers,” Shouto said to him.

“I know,” grumbled Inu-Yasha.

“Then what’s the problem?” asked the red dragon, Eijiro that was with them. He hadn’t believed that Inu-Yasha could beat him in a fight—until Inu-Yasha did it. 

Inu-Yasha sighed. “Look,” he said grimly, “Kikyo and me have history.”

“Indeed.” The only one of the three that didn’t jump, startled, at the word was Inu-Yasha. He turned to face her—to face the woman who looked like his Kagome. “Inu-Yasha. Shouto. I don’t believe you and I have met,” she added looking at the red dragon.

The red dragon flushed and danced slightly away from her. “Eijiro,” he mumbled.

“Isn’t he a little _young_ for you, Kikyo?” asked Inu-Yasha.

“Perhaps. The _young_ can be taught. And how is Kagome?”

Inu-Yasha growled. “Good,” he said, trying to stay polite. It wasn’t easy. He couldn't look at Kikyo and  _not_ see Kagome. There was only one striking difference between the two—Kikyo was dead.

“Good,” Kikyo said calmly. She looked at Shouto. “And Izuku is doing well?” she asked.

Shouto nodded. “He’s getting the dragon clinic up and running, and he’s treating more than dragons.”

“Oh?”

“We had the remnants of a village move into the valley,” Shouto said. “They’re helping with the harvest and he’s probably giving them exams as we speak.” He didn’t mention that Izuku had also treated Kagome for something—since Inu-Yasha didn’t bring it up he didn’t feel it was his place to mention it.

Kikyo smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad we got all the poison out before it reached his heart.”  She looked between the three of them. “So given that Kagome is all right, Izuku is all right, and Eijiro is too young—”

“Hey!”

Kikyo ignored him. “What brings the three of you here?” 

Inu-Yasha summed up their mission. “Everyone’s going to war with Naraku and Izuku wants to know if you and Kaede will shore up some of the human lines with healing to make the siege more likely to  _work_ .”

“Actually,” Shouto admitted, “Izuku had a good point. He said if Naraku controls the dead—”

“He does.”

“Then we don’t want our own people dying and giving him more troops.” 

Kikyo nodded. “That is very observant of him,” she agreed. “But if you’re going to need healers to shore up the lines—”

Inu-Yasha’s ears laid back against his head. He knew what she was going to say—he just didn’t want to hear it.

“Then you’ll need Sesshomaru.”

Inu-Yasha sank to the ground with a groan as the others looked at him in surprise—except for Kikyo. She knew  _exactly_ why he was reacting the way he was. “Why that bastard?” he muttered.

“You know exactly why,” she told him.

“Who’s Sesshomaru?” asked Shouto. 

“His brother,” Kikyo explained, knowing Inu-Yasha wouldn't.

“He’s a psychotic monster,” Inu-Yasha growled, “and unpredictable. I wouldn't want him anywhere near the front lines!”

Kikyo smiled again. “He’s gotten better,” she told him. “Besides,” she added as she continued down the path towards the house, “if you tell him there’s a chance Inu-Yasha might die, there’s no way anyone could keep him from the conflict.”

“He’d probably break ranks to try and kill me!” growled Inu-Yasha.

Kikyo pursed her lips together. “Perhaps,” she agreed. “But only if he saw you. He’s much better at controlling his blood lust now.”

“Your brother wants you dead?” asked Eijiro. “What’d you _do_?”

Inu-Yasha twitched. “I was born,” he said flatly before turning to Kikyo. “ He’s too unpredictable,” he told her. “He’s just as likely to kill allies as enemies.” The three of them followed Kikyo to the house.

“Less. Sesshomaru hates Naraku as much we do,” Kikyo said. She pushed the cloth door aside before entering. “We have guests, Kaede.”

“Eijiro and I will wait outside,” Shouto told her. “Your home isn’t big enough for two dragons.”

Kikyo gave a delicate snort. “Few are,” she told him. She entered the dwelling to hear Kaede lecturing Inu-Yasha.

“Bah! Home, Kagome is now, with you she is! And happy she will _not_ be if no children to raise there are!” 

“Kaede,” Kikyo gently scolded, “that’s for Kagome and Inu-Yasha to discuss.” She entered and sat near the fire, next to Kaede.

“Bah! Oddly shy that child is,” she grumbled.

“I’ll talk to her about it,” growled Inu-Yasha.

“Better you do!” scolded Kaede. “Your job to make her happy is!”

“That has nothing to do with why he’s here,” Kikyo inserted seamlessly as she put some wood on the fire in front of Kaede. “It seems that everyone—everyone alive, at least,” she smiled grimly at the reminder, “is going to fight Naraku. Izuku sent the dragons to ask if we’d be willing to help hold a healing line behind the front, to keep casualties down.”

“If wanting to keep casualties down it is,” Kaede began slowly, ignoring the way Inu-Yasha’s ears flattened against his head, “then Sesshomaru also gotten must be.” She measured Inu-Yasha with her one good eye. “A job for you it is not. Kikyo will go.”

The look on Kikyo’s face was almost worth knowing he was going to be fighting in a war with his unpredictable, sadistic half-brother. 


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and flashbacks

“No, these two can’t be mixed,” Izuku told the girl patiently. She was struggling to remember all the information she’d gotten today, and she wasn’t able to take notes to refer to later. Sometime soon, Izuku was going to have to teach her how to read and write, just so that she could take notes. He might not have had many patients yet, but he didn’t want to risk mixing them up in his head. 

“But this one, and this one,” she said pointing to the dried leaves, “are good for blood loss and fever?”

“Right,” agreed Izuku, pleased with his student’s progress.

Katsuki landed on the ground next to them, and Rin jumped, looking up at the dragon with wide eyes as he smirked at her. “How’s it going?” he asked his mate.

“Pretty well. Rin’s a fast learner,” the child swelled with the praise, “and we’ve got a lot of supplies lined up. It was nice of your mom and Enji to offer as many dragons as I need to get this stuff to the border before the battle starts.” Izuku leaned into the touch as Katsuki hugged his mate and looked at the kid.

The girl looked right back at him, completely not afraid of the dragon. “She’s also got spine,” Katsuki approved. “So,” he said looking at the kid, “are you going to be a dragon doctor too? Or just for your human friends?”

She frowned. “I just want to  _help_ !” she said in frustration.

Katsuki chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he assured the child. “You’ll fit right in.”

“Rin, why don’t you go and get dinner?” asked Izuku. The girl watched them with narrowed eyes for a moment before she nodded and ran off.

Katsuki rested his head against Izuku’s shoulder. “Reminds me of you,” he murmured into his mate’s ear. Izuku chuckled, remembering the incident that Katsuki was referring to.

***

Izuku hid slightly behind his older brother as the dragons were introduced. They were taller than most of the humans in the room, and while their heads, chests, and arms looked normal enough their legs had huge talons that bit into the wood of the floor. The thick, scaled legs easily supported the weight of the people over them, and the short tails that darted out from behind the dragons moved restlessly back and forth while the wings—huge, leathery things that were easily each bigger than the entire rest of the dragon—rustled on their backs.

Inko didn’t wait for the majordomo to finish introducing the dragons; she leaped off the thrones (to the gasp of the couriers who didn’t like it) and danced over to the female white and gold dragon to give it a hug. “Mitsuki!” cried Inko happily. “You came!” 

The dragon grinned, showing teeth that looked like human teeth. Izuku started to come out of hiding. “Of course I did!” Mitsuki said as she returned the hug—carefully. Even Izuku could tell that the dragon wasn’t using full strength on his mother. “And,” the dragon added as she used a taloned foot to shove the other dragon forwards, “I brought my son!” The young dragon looked almost just like her—except for the expression. The younger dragon clearly wasn’t happy.

“Excellent!” crowed Inko. “Boys, come meet the dragons.” Itsuki and Izuku stepped forwards. “These are my sons, Izuku and Itsuki.” The two bowed when they were introduced, like they’d been taught.

“And this is my little ball of destruction, Katsuki,” said Mitsuki.

Izuku looked up. “Kacchan?” he asked.

“Fuck NO!” A bolt of lightning flickered through the air and slammed Itsuki in the chest.

“Oh dear,” said Inko as Mitsuki gripped Katsuki’s head with a talon and forced him to the floor.

“Fix it you little shit,” she growled. The younger dragon growled, but another bolt hit Itsuki and the boy started breathing and coughing. She sighed and glanced at the cowering humans in the room while Toshinari leaned back in the throne, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “He’s still learning manners,” she explained to the assembled humans. The young dragon muttered something and her talons pierced the wood around his head. “What was that?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” came the response.

***

Izuku watched as Katsuki stared at the milling sheep. “Kacchan,” he said warily, “what are you thinking?”

Katsuki didn’t even protest the nickname anymore. “It’s meat that isn’t running away,” he said, eyes narrowed. That just—that just didn’t  _happen_ . Meat  _always_ ran—especially from dragons.

“They’re sheep, Kacchan,” the kid said helpfully.

Katsuki didn’t take his eyes off the white, fluffy meat. All there. Milling about. Taunting him by  _not_ running away. His wings spread and  took off.

“Kacchan, wait!” called the human. He ignored it, eyes focused on the milling meat in front of him. He didn’t even twitch when the heavy crossbow bolt slammed into his right wing as he dropped on one of the fluffy meats, grabbed the fur to part it before eating, chomped into it—only to spit the awful stuff back out.

“KATSUKI!” rumbled the loud voice as Mitsuki landed on him—tearing the wing further.

***

Katsuki, grounded and trapped in the human castle, fumed as he stalked down the corridors. The way the humans scattered when they saw him coming, heat emanating from his body, made him feel better, satisfied. Compared to dragons, humans were powerless! They  _should_ fear him! Despite the thick, bulky bandage on his wing that was making it hard to move.

“Kacchan,” said the human trailing him. The human that _wasn’t_ afraid of him, despite how ruthlessly Katsuki had killed that—that _sheep_.

Katsuki whipped his head around to growl at the boy. “What?”

“Kacchan, your bandage is bloody again,” the boy said calmly. 

Katsuki couldn’t take it anymore. The kid, this  _human_ kid was not only not scared of him, but trailed him  _everywhere_ ! He grabbed the kid and slammed him against the wall with a hand. “The  _fuck_ is your problem?” he demanded.

“I just want to help!” protested the boy as he squirmed, trying to get some purchase on the ground.

Help? He, Katsuki of the Bakugo tribe, was so dangerous that many of the older dragons said Mitsuki should have squashed him as an egg, and this weak, helpless little human wanted to  _help_ him? “I can kill you right now,” he growled.

Green eyes met his evenly, all squirming stopped. “You won’t,” the boy said with complete confidence. “I trust you.”

Trust him? Hauled against a wall, having seen Katsuki’s temper, and the boy  _trusted_ him? Why?  _How_ ?

“Kacchan, can you let me down?” asked the boy. Katsuki gently lowered the boy back to the floor, still confused. The boy grinned and held out a hand. “Come on Kacchan,” he said trustingly. “Let’s go get your bandage changed!” Unsure of what he was doing, he took the boy’s hand. He could, he reasoned, kill the young human at any time.

He just didn’t want to.

***

“Kacchan?”

Katsuki didn’t even protest the nickname anymore as he sat next to the kid, idly pulling grass out of the ground. “Yeah?”

“How’s your wing?”

Katsuki idly flapped it under the bright sunshine. “Barely hurts,” he said looking at the wound. It would scar—but dragons got scars all the time. It was nothing to worry about.

The kid frowned. “It shouldn't hurt  _at all_ ,” he protested as he reached out to touch the wound.

Katsuki didn’t care. The pain was negligible, almost nonexistent—but what he  _did_ find to be odd was the way the boy seemed obsessed with the way it was healing. “Why’s it matter, anyway?”

“I want to be a dragon doctor!” the boy said excitedly.

“What now?” asked Katsuki looking at the kid. His green eyes were open almost impossibly wide and shining in the sunlight. He felt on odd tinge of worry—that couldn't be good for the kid, could it?

“A doctor! Like the doctor that fixed your wing, only for dragons!” He flung his arms wide open. “I’ll be able to help everyone.”

“Everyone huh.” Katsuki looked at the kid, and made a decision. What was the kid’s name again? Oh, right, everyone called him Zeku. “So you’d be like…Doctor Zeku. Deku.” He grinned as the boy enthusiastically began telling him all about what he’d do as the first dragon doctor ever.

***

Izuku chuckled warmly as he made notes in his notebook. “Shouldn’t your apprentice live closer to us?” Katsuki asked as he watched the girl run across the valley towards the little village set up there.

“She doesn’t want to be too far from the others,” Izuku told him. He grinned at his mate. “I did ask,” he added.

Katsuki snorted. “Yeah—just like you. I hope the baby takes after me or Shouto, ‘cause I can’t handle another one of you.”

Izuku kissed him. “I think the baby will take after all three of us,” he said smugly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that you can't fix someone struck by lightning with another lightning strike. Really do. However, I also know that there isn't a near miraculous herb with fuzzy leaves that makes even arterial bleeding clot--so, you know.


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, back at the castle...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So another short chapter. This is from Naraku's perspective, and I hope you're fortified from the fluff of the last one, because this one's a little dark.

Naraku looked over the people— _bodies_ \--in front of him. Each one standing perfectly still (of course) and waiting for orders. These used to be the elite, the ones the military would send out on—special missions. He had a mission of his own for them. He knew they would obey his every order, because they had no choice.

He frowned, momentarily. Apparently, given that he has come across not one, but  _two_ that he can’t control, he can’t control all of them. Granted, given the multitudes of the dead he  _could_ control, two was such a small number that he shouldn't be worried about it. 

Still, the anomaly ate at him. What was did Kikyo and Inko have in common? What made them able to thwart his mind control when none of the other corpses could? Oh, there were humans that were immune to his powers, but  _they_ were still alive… 

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. For now, he had to set up his own special little trap. He smiled once more. The  _dear_ members of the Council had no idea what he was planning for them. It would be so—wonderful when they realized they had just played into his hands.

He looked at the slim, whipcord muscle people in front of him again. “I have a special mission for the four of you,” he said to them. “There is going to be a war as everyone comes to destroy me.” He pressed two images into the four minds. “These two will be among them. Bring them to me. Do not,” he added firmly pushing the orders firmly into their minds—or what was left of their minds. “Do not get caught, do not get seen, do not  _be_ seen taking them. And make sure they have no weapons on them,” he added. The four nodded, and left.

Time to visit the corpse he could not control. He went down to the dungeons of the castle to the room where the former queen was chained against the wall. Even with the extra strength the dead had, she could not rip those chains from the wall. They had been built very well.

He should be repulsed by the naked fury on her face—but he found it intriguing. And, if he was going to be completely honest with himself, he was more than a little bored with the unchanging expressions on most of his corpses—including that of her husband’s. “Hello Inko,” he said casually as he walked into the cell. He didn’t bother closing the door—there was no point. He also didn’t bother lighting any of the torches. Neither of them needed the light anymore.

“Hello Monster,” the former queen greeted him.

“Inko, please,” he said as he looked at her. Her hair hung lankly on either side of her head. If she’d had to breathe, he was certain the breathing would be ragged. “You wound me. I think we’ve reached the point where you can say my name.”

“I think we’ve reached the point I want to kill you,” Inko said, just as casually.

He chuckled. “Oh,” he said, “it’s not just you. It seems that all of your dear fellow kingdoms are encircling this one in order to destroy it. Or, more likely, to destroy  _me_ .”

A smile twisted the corpse’s lips. “You don’t say.”

“Oh, but that’s not all.” Naraku smiled. “It’s not just your dear fellow humans that want me dead—it would seem the dragons are coming to help them.”

“I hope they succeed,” snarled Inko.

“Oh, I know you do. But you haven’t heard the best part yet,” Naraku continued. “See, there’s going to be another line behind the actual battle line. This one isn’t of fighters—but healers. Healers will be working to keep anyone injured on the battlefield from dying.” He chuckled. “Seems they’re afraid to add to my ranks.” He looked at Inko and saw she hadn’t understood what he was saying. “That sounds suspiciously,” he added, “like something someone else suggested. Perhaps like a certain young prince?”

If she’d still been alive all the blood would have drained from her face. “Izuku,” she whispered.

Naraku nodded. “I’m quite looking forward to meeting him again.”

She lunged at the chains again. “Damn you Naraku!” she snarled. “Don’t you touch him!” He laughed and left the dungeon as she screamed, “Don’t you  _dare_ touch him!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Inko.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome decides to defend Inu-Yasha.

“Inu-Yasha,” Kagome said irritably, “stop pacing!” Obediently, he stopped, but his foot tapped and his ears twitched. Kagome paused in her packing (mostly medicines, she was donating the use of her bag to Izuku) to look at him. “What is it?” she asked.

Inu-Yasha hummed and switched from foot to foot. “We saw Kaede and Kikyo.”

Kagome turned back to  her packing, careful to make sure that everything was packed in such away that nothing would be damaged. “I knew that,” she said absently.

“They suggested we get Sesshomaru to hold down the healing line,” he burst out.

Kagome paused, then turned to see the anxious look on her mate’s face. “They  _what_ ?” she hissed. They knew what the demon had tried to do to Inu-Yasha!  _Her_ Inu-Yasha! She put the packaged medicine down. “We’ll see about this!” she snarled.

“Kagome, that might not be the best idea,” protested Inu-Yasha as he followed his mate.

She stomped right up to a group of dragons and demanded, “Who went with Inu-Yasha to talk to Kikyo and Kaede?” She propped her hands on her hips as s he glared around at the assembled dragons. “Well?” she demanded.

“Human,” one of the dragons said respectfully, “we can squash you like a bug.”

“No one is squashing anyone in my valley.”

The words were not shouted, growled, or yelled. They were spoken in a simple, conversational tone, and shouldn't have had the effect they did: all the people who heard them froze—including Kagome. Izuku calmly walked through the group to address Kagome.

Inu-Yasha could have put words to the expressions on the faces of the dragons—if he’d wanted to. Back when he first met Kagome there were plenty of times back when he’d first met Kagome he’d wondered why he was obeying the orders of this girl he could snap in half—aside from the necklace. These bastards didn’t even have the necklace to explain to themselves why they were deferring to what their minds saw as a weak, defenseless human. The small, vicious side of himself that he’d been repressing for years wanted to see what would happen if Katsuki and Shouto saw that look directed at their mate.

“What’s wrong Kagome?” asked Izuku.

Kagome looked him up and down. “Command suits you,” she said. “Aside from that,” she growled, “I heard there’s plans to add Sesshomaru to the battle!”

Izuku frowned and began rummaging through that book he carried with him everywhere. “I don’t think—oh, here. Yes, they want him to shore up the healing lines along one of the human kingdoms.”

“Sesshomaru,” gritted out, “is an uncontrollable, unpredictable _psychopath_ who wants my mate dead.” She crossed her arms and glared at Izuku. “I don’t want them anywhere near each other.”

“I agree,” Izuku said as he pulled out the odd glass writing instrument from the pocket on the front before scribbling in it.

“What?” asked Kagome, startled.

Izuku looked up. “I,” he said firmly, “am not responsible for the front line. Those deployments are someone else’s—and I’d recommend Itsuki, his head for strategy is sound—but the healing line is _mine_.” The word echoes around the valley.

Inu-Yasha looks at Izuku, really _looks_ at him. The last time he heard an omega get that territorial was right before and shortly after giving birth. Izuku has a small roundness where people start to show pregnancy—but it’s not like the huge way he’s used to seeing people before birth.

_Before screaming and pain and blood—_

Kagome reache d behind her to give his shoulder a pat and it pull ed him out of the memory as she look ed at  Izuku. “If you’re not responsible for the front line,” she asked knowing full well where  _Inu-Yasha_ was going to be, “how do you know that you can put Sesshomaru somewhere they won’t run into each other?”

“Because Inu-Yasha, Shouto, and Katsuki have already informed everyone that they’re launching the attacks on Midoriya from the Dragon Lands,” Izuku explained. His mouth twitched. “I imagine,” he added wryly, “that no one wanted to argue with them.”

A little girl ran up to Izuku and handed him a cup. “You forgot your tea,” she said firmly.  She didn’t even seem to notice the dragons around her, dwarfing her small frame.

“Thank you, Rin,” Izuku said gently to the child. He took the cup, grimaced, and then bolted it down.

Recognizing the grimace of someone forcing down a nasty medicine, Inu-Yasha can’t help but wonder what was in the cup. Izuku looked at Kagome, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “Anything else?” he asked hoarsely.

“Good God,” asked Kagome. “What _is_ that stuff?”

Izuku grimaced. “Necessary. Thankfully, that was the last one.”

“Last one what?” asked Katsuki as he landed. The other dragons scattered. Katsuki didn’t even have to growl.

“Last tea needed to settle my stomach,” Izuku said.

Katsuki hugged him close and frowned. “Sick again?” he asked.

Kagome and Inu-Yasha also frowned. Izuku saw the expression and explained, “Morning sickness.”

“Little late, isn’t it?” asked Kagome who had watched her best friend pregnant five times.

Izuku shrugged. “This is new territory,” he said calmly. “I’m keeping a list of symptoms—and I’m being careful,” he added.

Katsuki growled as he rested his head on top of Izuku’s. Inu-Yasha knew how he felt. He didn’t want Kagome near the battle any more than Katsuki wanted Izuku there. At the same time, they both knew they couldn't force their mates to stay in the valley.

Especially not when everybody who could protect them was going to the front line.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle is about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. Last one of the night. (My night. 3rd shift rocks.) Have fun, hope everyone enjoyed the updates, back to work tonight. (TT)

Katsuki frowned when he saw the line encircling the entire border of Midoriya—a line made even more obvious by the dead land that circled the border. “That’s not exactly subtle,” he growled.

Shouto, carrying Izuku, nodded. “Naraku’s going to know he’s surrounded,” the other dragon noted.

Izuku was more concerned with the second line forming behind the first one. “Can you take me higher?” he asked Shouto. “I want to see all of it.” Shouto obliged by shooting upwards until they could see the entire kingdom Midoriya. He could see two lines of armies, one on each side of the border, facing each other. The hair on the back of Izuku’s neck raised when he saw the pure white border. It reminded him of something…

“Ready to go back down?” asked Shouto, breaking the line of thought.

“Yeah,” agreed Izuku. This high up it was getting hard to breathe. Maybe that was all causing the odd sensation in his gut. Maybe.

Shouto dropped until they were at the same level as Katsuki. “Where do you want all the medication to go?” Katsuki asked him. He glanced at the dragons trailing behind them. Dragons who, for whatever reason, would listen to Izuku as if he was their alpha. Katsuki wasn’t sure why they did, but didn’t question it. After all, he listened to Izuku too.

Izuku pointed to a place halfway between the sides of the border with Midoriya. “There. The surroundings are almost perfect for injured dragons.”

Katsuki and the others landed in the spot that Izuku had pointed out. Katsuki helped Izuku raise a tent (a _different_ tent) and the other dragons helped get the supplies under cover—including the human helpers. The human helpers swarmed to organize everything according to Izuku’s specifications.

Katsuki didn’t know where all the humans had come from. Only one of them was from the little village, and that the was the girl that reminded him so much of Izuku. The others had—the others had just appeared over the previous few days, sometimes on dragon-back, sometimes on foot. The only thing that all of them had in common was that they wanted to help the healers.

He looked away from the activity to see that Kagome was calmly stringing a bow almost as long as she was tall. “The fuck is that for?” he asked with a frown.

Kagome just sighed. “Listen,” she said, “it’s cute that you all think Naraku is going to have a traditional military showdown with you, but Naraku’s a sly bastard.” She drew the string to test the bow and nodded before slinging it over her back with the arrows. She stared towards the border with that look on her face, the same one she’d had earlier that reminded him of Kikyo. “Yes,” she said vaguely with slightly narrowed eyes. “It’s almost here…”

“Kacchan,” called Izuku as he came up to the two of them. “Can you help Shouto make the field level? I don’t want injured dragons getting more jarred than they have to be.”

Katsuki smirked. “Don’t trust your trainee dragons?” he asked as he eyed the dragons. They’d been marked with large cloth bands around the legs (Izuku’s idea) to make sure everyone knew they were simply there to ferry wounded from the field to the healers. Katsuki had no idea what those bands were made of, but they stretched to fit when the dragons shifted to full form.

“They’re not _you_ Kacchan,” Izuku said.

The words filled Katsuki with pride and he willingly went to work flattening out the landing ground. Izuku and Kagome watched him for a moment. “So,” Kagome said somberly, “how bad do you think it’s going to get?”

Izuku winced as he remembered the blank faces of the silent soldiers chasing him through the forest and the fear he’d felt when he realized how—not normal they were. “Worse than they imagine,” Izuku said grimly. He looked at the landing field and at where he’d directed his trainee dragons to pile rocks to create emergency ‘dens’ for the wounded dragons that would be coming in. “This isn’t going to be enough,” he added quietly.

“No,” agreed Kagome. She pulled the bow off her back, fit an arrow to the string, and shot down a strange black bird with a single eye that was watching them. The arrow glowed a light pink before it hit the bird, and both bird and arrow dissolved on the way to the ground.

“Sacred arrows?” asked Izuku calmly. She nodded grimly. Izuku’s eyes scanned the treeline. “You’re going to need more.”


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the battle begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I lied about it being the last chapter of the night. Or maybe first of the day? Third shift, all the same to me...

The battle was brutal. There was something about facing off against a horde of emotionless, expressionless soldiers that freaked all the opponents—even the dragons. Matters weren’t helped by the way flocks of bizarre creatures rose to the skies to attack those that were airborne. Strange black birds with a single, bright red eye, huge wasps easily the size of a human torso, and more. In a way, the dragons had it worse than the humans—the humans  _only_ had to deal with the soldiers.  The flying things only swarmed the dragons, and the dragons quickly learned they needed to kill the things without spilling their blood.

Katsuki banked to the side to let one of the emergency carry dragons get his charge out—a dragon that looked like it was melting. Katsuki dove, grabbed two of the black birds that were harrying the carry dragon, and snapped their necks before dropping the carcasses to the valley below. He didn’t know what the strange, bright orange blood was, but it ate into dragon hide like—like nothing he’d ever seen.

Fortunately, Izuku seemed prepared for it (and Katsuki was too busy being grateful to wonder  _how_ he was prepared for it), because the wounded dragons were coming  _back_ to the front lines, better—

And more pissed off than ever.  More determined to rid the world of those— _things_ . Each time a dragon came back, it was more deadly to the airborne foe than before.

But they kept coming. There didn’t seem to be any end to them.  No matter how many they killed, more came.

Suddenly a group of the monsters dove down on Katsuki, forcing him towards the ground. One of the soldiers hit him with a heavy crossbow bolt and he lashed out—getting that foul liquid on his wing. Another dragon covered him as one of the carrier dragons got him to safety and he hissed with the pain. 

He nearly cursed the bumpy landing—until he saw how torn up the plain he’d worked hard to level was. How many dragons were getting hit? How bad  _was_ it? He felt chilled realizing that he didn’t know.

“Kacchan!” called a frantic voice. He looked over to see Izuku running towards him, two large containers in his hands. “Hold out your wing!” he ordered.

All of Katsuki’s instincts screamed at him to pull the injured wing closer to himself—but he trusted Izuku. If Izuku said he needed to open the wing, he would. Izuku poured the first vial over the wing—and the pain stopped for a glorious, Thunder-blessed moment. He poured the second one over the wing—and it began to hurt again, but it was a healthy kind of hurt. He looked over to see that the wing was starting heal itself as Izuku pulled the crossbow bolt out and then laid some bandages over the open would. “Thanks Deku,” Katsuki said. He looked around. “How are we doing?”

Izuku didn’t answer right away. “Mina, we’re running low on water and arrows,” he told the pink carrier dragon. “We need more. Collect Eijiro and send him out for more meat, as well.” The dragon nodded and took to the air. As soon as she was gone Izuku stepped towards Katsuki and rested his head against the dragon’s chest for a moment. “Not good,” he said. “The humans are having insane casualties, and the dead—”

“Are rising again,” Katsuki said grimly as he hugged Izuku. He’d seen it from the air.

His mate nodded without taking his face away from Katsuki’s chest. “I don’t know how long we’ll be able to keep the dragons from following,” he admitted. “We’re doing everything we can—but we’re starting to run low on resources.” He laughed bitterly. “We  _all_ are.”

“If a lull comes,” Katsuki said, “take a break. No, listen to _me_ , you can’t save anyone if you’re collapsed from exhaustion Deku.” He lifted Izuku’s head and gave him another kiss. “Be careful,” he told his mate.

Izuku leaned his head into Katsuki’s hand. “I will, Kacchan,” he promised. He stepped out of the embrace and pulled the bandages off to reveal the wing whole and ready to fly again. 

“All right,” Katsuki said grimly. “Here we go again.” He leaped into the air and banked until he found Shouto—the other lead dragon on the lines. “Shouto!” he called. When the half red, half white dragon looked up at him he added, “Teams of three!”

Shouto nodded grimly and passed the order along as Katsuki got back to his own part of the line—to discover that the flying things had adopted the tactics that had forced him back to the healers. They’d force a dragon down, a crossbow bolt would hit the wing, and then the dragon would lash out—getting covered in the winged monsters’ blood.

Katsuki was getting  _very_ tired of the things. He reached into himself and pulled down the barriers he’d erected to keep his powers up and used it to lash the forest in front of him, burning it to ash. The area burned with slight pops, crackles, and the roar of flames—but nothing else. There was no sound of the humans screaming, or wildlife escaping. It was almost as though the entire forest was already dead, except for the trees.

A huge flock of the winged things, evenly mixed between birds and wasps, rose from the flames to face the dragons. “Let’s kill them all!” snarled Katsuki as he threw himself into the fray again.

He didn’t know how long he spent dodging attacks and snapping the necks of the creatures. A small, weary part of him was just grateful  that  _those_ corpses didn’t rise again. And at least the fire had gotten rid of the dead soldiers. 

He banked suddenly, as did the rest of the dragons as a shiver of power ran through the area. Before he could do more than wonder at what it was, the white border pulsed once, twice—and the entire Midoriya kingdom was wrapped in a dome.

Katsuki kicked at the dome with a taloned foot—it was solid. Impenetrable. It seemed that, for the moment, the entire country was protected. “Back to camp!” he ordered his dragons. They made their way to the landing field as carrier dragons and healers brought them slaughtered meat. Katsuki was too weary to even taste if it was real meat or that horrid herded crap that humans seemed to prefer. 

After eating he wandered the camp, absently, looking Izuku and hoping his human had managed to find a place to collapse and rest. Finally he made his way to the tent that had been set up for supplies—the now almost empty tent—and stepped inside. His foot hit something and he looked down, staring for a couple of moments as his exhausted mind tried to process what he was seeing. When it did an icy chill ran down the back of his spine.

On the ground where it had clearly been stepped on, was the leather-bound notebook with a pouch in the front containing a broken pen that was still leaking ink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. Had to do another cliffhanger, please forgive me?


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Kagome get captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--only chapter tonight, I have to get off my lazy rear end and get ready for work. Sorry it took so long; I had to keep rewriting it since it didn't want to come out the way I wanted it to.

Izuku was going to listen to Katsuki’s order—as soon as he could  _find_ a moment. Dragons began being carried back to the healing line faster than ever; the carriers stopping just long enough to drop a wounded dragon off before launching back into the battle. He mixed medication, treated dragons, directed his carriers—until he stumbled.

Kagome caught him before he fell, looking as horrible as he felt. Her face was pale, her eyes were sunken, her hands were twitching, and her forearm was rubbed raw. “I can fix that,” Izuku said pointing to the raw skin with blood beading to the surface.

She laughed, and it had a hallow sound. “Would it do any good?” she asked. “I’ll just end up shooting it off again.”

He sighed, understanding the feeling. He’d patched the same dragons up so many times that by now he wanted to  _scream_ . He wanted to scream at them to stop getting hurt, to stop coming back in tatters, to stop getting that—that  _stuff_ on them that was making them start to  _melt—_

He did none of it. He kept the screaming locked up inside, hoping the battle would break before he did. “Come on,” he said wearily as he took Kagome’s elbow and steered her towards the tent. “At the very least we can make it feel better.” She followed without comment, showing him how badly  _she_ was exhausted.

Once inside the tent he got the medicine he’d been whipping up all day for the dragons and gently smeared some on her skin. She winced at the initial sting, and then sighed in relief as the skin began to heal. She looked at it wryly. “It almost seems a waste,” she commented.

Izuku chuckled wearily. “We’ve also got this,” he said as he pulled out a piece of tanned hide with laces. He tied it over her forearm, protecting it from the bowstring.

“We’ve also got these.” The two of them turned to see the child Rin dragging two of the large cots over. She dropped them in front of the two of them and glared at both. “You need sleep,” she ordered. Her eyes narrowed at Izuku. “I think we can keep things running while you rest,” she added. She whirled and stomped out of the tent.

Izuku chuckled tiredly. “That girl,” he said fondly, “is going to grow up to be a great doctor.” He turned to see that Kagome had already laid down on one of the cots, and was sound asleep.  He took his notebook from his pocket and was about to lay it on one of the tables when he heard an odd rustling noise behind him. 

He quickly turned to see two shadows forming into people next to the cot where Kagome lay, fast asleep. He took step towards them and opened his mouth to yell—when a hand clamped over it. Another hand grabbed the wrist that was holding his notebook and tightened making him drop it. He flung back his other hand, determined to hit the attacker—only to have that grabbed as well.

A quick glance showed the first two shadows he’d seen picking up Kagome—and the shadow covering all three of them before it sank into the ground without a trace. He flung himself from side to side, trying to break free—but all he succeeded in doing was getting his leg caught by one of the attackers. As soon as both legs were held off the ground shadow came up to cover them. He tried to yell, to scream—but his mouth was still covered and the shadow fell over him, coating him in icy darkness that sank into his bones.

He was trapped in a whirling vortex with no way to tell up or down—when he finally dropped to stone. He rolled over and retched up the ridiculously small amount of food in his stomach.  Hearing the same thing next to him he turned his head to see Kagome, in the exact same position, throwing up just a little less than he had. “What happened?” she moaned.

“I think,” Izuku paused to swallow again, willing himself to get control over his body. “I think we were kidnapped.”

“Again?” Kagome winced as she tried to sit up. “Inu-Yasha is going to be pissed.”

A low, soft chuckle fills the room and Izuku almost falls over to see the thing he’d been certain  he’d never see again. Standing, just a few feet away, was Naraku. This wasn’t quite the Naraku that had been controlling (and killing) his parents though—this Naraku was different.

The original Naraku had maintained some semblance of humility, of deferring to the royals. He had been scrupulously polite, and had appeared to be— humbler. He had also done his best to always be seen working.

This Naraku was clearly the one in charge. It was in his posture and his expression. He was also glowing slightly, a dark purple, and inexplicably menacing glow. “How does it feel to be home again, Izuku?” Naraku asked.

Kagome pulled her feet under her and launched herself at Naraku—who easily caught her around the throat with a single hand. “Stop it!” yelled Izuku as Kagome tried to breathe.

“Hmm. I think I will. It doesn’t suit my plans for either of you to die yet.” Two dead soldiers came forwards and grabbed Kagome as Naraku released her. She went limp, coughing.

“Kagome!” called Izuku. He would have run to her—except two hands grabbed his shoulders, keeping him in place. The hands were cold, and seemed to be leeching heat out of him.

“Calm down Izuku,” Naraku advised. “Wouldn’t want you to endanger—anything.” Izuku stilled, hearing the threat towards his unborn child.

“What,” his voice cracked. He swallowed to wet his throat. “What do you want?”

Naraku’s eyes glittered. “You’ll see soon enough,” he told the boy. “Still, it may do you good and prevent—unwarranted problems, if you see something.” The ice cold hands wrenched Izuku up off the floor and walked him to a window. He stared.

The world was coated with a dim, white light that extended from horizon to horizon. The light made even the green of the trees under it look black—and it was solid. An entirely different fear filled him. “An opal curtain,” he whispered.

“An opal curtain,” agreed Naraku. “And your alphas—both of your alphas—are on the other side.” Izuku turned to see a sick grin spread across Naraku’s face. “Oh, they’re _trying_ to get in,” he told the boy.

Izuku’s heart sank. The opal curtain couldn't be broken—because it  _absorbed_ every attack that hit it. Everything anyone did to get through it would only make it stronger.  He had no doubt that Naraku was right, that Katsuki and Shouto would attack with everything they had—making it stronger and even harder to penetrate. “We’re not the only ones who know what it is,” Izuku said, with just a seed of hope.

Naraku’s smile didn’t change a bit. “But will your dragons get word in time?” he asked. He drew away. “Alas,” he said as the two dead soldiers wrenched Kagome around and started marching Izuku along behind him, “I have other matters to attend to. But it would be—inhospitable of me to leave you to your own devices.” 

Naraku led them down the stairs to the dungeons. Izuku remembered them because, before he’d met the dragons, he and his brother used to play down there. His parents had joked that even if the dungeons no longer functioned for the purpose they were built for, at least they were a safe playground for their children.

Izuku doubted that was true now. He was forced to follow, step by step, even though all he wanted to do was scream and run. More true when he heard the enraged, inarticulate yelling as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Now don’t look at me like that,” Naraku scolded gently. “I’ve brought you company.” The soldiers holding Kagome and the hands holding Izuku threw them into the cell.

“Izuku! Izuku, are you okay?”

Izuku opened his eyes and looked up—terrified, into a pair of eyes he’d never expected to see again. “Mom?”

 


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the camp...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--this chapter is kind of a kaleidoscope chapter with multiple people and multiple things happening at the same time. I tried to separate it well, to make it easy to read.

K atsuki found Inu-Yasha violently lashing against the barrier with his sword. “Stop!” he ordered. Inu-Yasha ignored him raising the sword and swinging again, lashing the barrier with power—that it then absorbed. Katsuki landed behind him and grabbed his wrists and stopped him from swinging again. “Listen to me!” he ordered. “You’re making it stronger!”

Inu-Yasha growled. “We’ve got to get them out of there!”

“You think I don’t know that?” demanded Katsuki. 

“ _You_ don’t know what Naraku’s capable of!” Inu-Yasha looked at Katsuki, eyes wide with panic. “ _I_ do!”

 

***

 

“You will _sit_ and you will drink that tea.”

Sesshomaru frowned at the little girl who was staring at him, foot tapping irritably against the floor. “I do not need the tea, little girl,” he told her.

She glared right back up at him, not a bit afraid. Most of the humans, healers included, were afraid of him. “You,” she said firmly, “have been using that sword of yours to heal people since the battle started.” 

“The sword,” he said tartly, “has been doing most of the work.”

“ _You_ ,” she retorted, “have been the one swinging it. You need energy back from that, if nothing else. Now, I learned how to make tea from the best healer in the _world—_ ”

Sesshomaru waited for her to name Kaede.

“—Izuku the Dragon King,” she finished, surprising him.

Sesshomaru mulled this over. “I thought Izuku was a human,” he said.

She propped her hands on her hips, looking suspiciously like a certain Child of the Well he knew. “And?” she demanded. 

It wasn’t worth arguing about. If the dragons wanted to make a human their king, then that was their business and he didn’t really care. However, he was not going to let some cheeky little  _child_ take attitude with him. He drew himself up to his full height and allowed his power to flow around him. The tent rapidly emptied of all the other humans but this one child. “I,” he said firmly, “am the First Prince of the Demon Dog Clan. You will address me with respect.”

She snorted. “I,” she said just as firmly, “watched soldiers murder my entire family and then watched the corpses rise again. I spent weeks running with the few survivors of the village into the Dragon Lands as we dodged everything that even  _looked_ like another person.  _Now_ I live in a valley ruled by dragons.  _You_ ,” she added pertly, “do not scare me and you  _will_ sit down and drink that tea!”

Sesshomaru blinked. He sat down and drank the tea. The girl nodded and flounced off.

 

***

 

Itsuki stifled a groan as he looked at the map. With the dragons’ help, he’d determined that the barrier surrounded the entirety of Midoriya—and not a single bit more. He wracked his brain for everything that he’d learned about it. Nothing he could remember seemed to be of any use.

“Yo,” Katsuki greeted as he pushed the tent flap aside and strode in. The soldiers around Itsuki stiffened—but he ignored it. Dragons in general weren’t particular about manners and Katsuki was worse than both of them. “Any luck?” He was followed in by Shouto and an odd person he’d never seen before that looked human—except for the silver hair, yellow eyes, and dog ears on his head. 

“All bad. You must be Inu-Yasha,” Itsuki said. “Thank you for coming.”

Inu-Yasha gave a curt nod as he watched the soldiers. “Is there any way to break this thing?” Shouto asked.

Itsuki  sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “The opal curtain is a device my grandfather built.”

“Quite the guy, your grandfather,” drawled Inu-Yasha dryly. 

Itsuki frowned. What else had he built that they knew about? Probably whatever Dad had taken Izuku to see when he was old enough his abilities were manifesting. “Yes. Well, the curtain is designed to get stronger with every attack.”

“Heard that the _first_ time you said it,” Katsuki responded, lips curling up over his teeth. “ _Stop_ twitching,” he growled at the soldiers. “If I wanted your precious prince dead, he would be already.”

“Katsuki,” scolded Shouto. He turned to the soldiers. “We’re not going to kill our mate’s brother. By dragon law we’re the same clan.”

Itsuki, by way of Izuku, knew very well that dragons within a clan killed each other all the time, but the soldiers relaxed which had the effect of making Katsuki’s relax. Slightly. He said nothing.

“So, how does it die?” asked Inu-Yasha.

Izuku ran his hands through his hair again. “It doesn’t. Exactly.” He sighed. “The curtain absorbs power used to attack it from the outside. It either winds down naturally,  and fades away, or it gets turned off from the inside.” He grimaced. “Since it was—attacked so fiercely, I don’t think it’ll wind down anytime soon.” Until he’d seen it he never would have believed that dragons could be so strong as to both  _create_ and  _throw_ molten rock in the air. Izuku had once told him his two dragons were the strongest in the world. At the time he had written the statement off as a child bragging about his friends—but now he believed it. 

“What if it was hit by something that _wasn’t_ an attack?” asked Inu-Yasha. Everyone in the tent. Inu-Yasha continued, “My—father had two swords. _This_ one,” he said as he gestured to the blade he carried, “which is made to _protect_ and the other which is made to _heal_. My brother,” he added with a snarl, “has the other sword.”

“Hold on,” said Shouto, “you said your brother was an unpredictable menace.”

Inu-Yasha sighed. “He is. But there’s one thing he’s wanted for years—”

“Which is?” asked Katsuki warily.

“And if he gets us through that thing I’ll give it to him.” He sighed again. “Let’s go talk to my brother.”

 

***

 

Sesshomaru’s eyes narrowed at the sight of his younger brother, the stain on the clan honor. Honestly, the thing never should have been born. His hands clenched with the need to wipe the stain out—but he held back. Next to the stain were two dragons and strong as he was—he didn’t want to antagonize the dragon clans.

“I’ve come to talk to you Sesshomaru,” the stain said.

“I’m not sure I have anything to say to you,” Sesshomaru replied.

The stain snorted. “I think you’ll like where this conversation goes.” He pointed behind him with his thumb. “There’s a chance you can use that sword to break that thing. If you do, you’ll get something you’ve wanted for a long time.”

“And what might that be?”

“Me.” The stain met his eyes squarely. “Get that thing down and you can kill me, maim me, whatever. I won’t fight.”

The stain was clever. The stain was sneaky. The stain was also honest and Sesshomaru felt his lips curl. “For a  _human_ ?” he spat.

The gaze never broke. “For my human. My  _mate_ . Kagome is more important than I will ever be.”

“ _One day you’ll understand.”_

Sesshomaru, with the ease of practice, pushed the words out of his mind again. “I’ll let you see her safe before I kill you,” he promised the stain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I had to.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Kagome have an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is shorter than normal--and a bit dark. I feel compelled to remind my audience that the story *will* have a happy ending. Just gotta defeat the villain first.

Izuku stared at his mother in the flickering torch light. She at the edge of two chains keeping her shackled to the wall, and was looking at him sadly. “Mom?” he said hesitantly. “I thought—I thought you were dead!”

Inko laughed bitterly. “I am dead, Sweetheart,” she told him. “I have been for a while.”

“But you—you, how?” Izuku tried to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. His mother—chained to a dungeon wall. The same mother he had thought was dead—she _said_ she was dead.

She laughed again. “It didn’t take that monster too long to figure out why he kept getting attacked by birds every time he stepped outside,” she told him bitterly.

“Stronger people than you have tried to kill him,” Kagome said as she stretched slowly. She paused and looked at the chained woman. “They’ve also failed,” she added softly, kindly.

She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter,” Inko said firmly. “Listen to me; the both of you need to get out of here.”

Izuku shook his head. “We can’t,” he said softly. “Mom—Naraku’s raised the opal curtain.”

Inko swore vividly as she fought against the chains, not noticing how they were cutting into her wrists. “So  _that’s_ why he salted the border!” she seethed. “He knew as long as the trees were there it wouldn’t go up!”

Izuku felt his head throb and his stomach roil and he rolled to the side to retch. The tea he’d drunk  _should_ have given him a few days without sickness. Why was he sick again?

“Oh, poor baby,” Inko said softly. “You take after your mother.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “No one ever could figure out why I didn’t get sick until after the baby started showing.”

“Maybe,” Izuku mumbled working out the swirling vortex. Maybe there was something about it that canceled out the medicine in his system. “Kagome,” he said turning, “how’s your arm?”

She blinked in surprise. “My arm?” She removed the leather protecting it and showed her forearm—still fully healed. “It’s fine now. You fixed it, remember?” she asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” Izuku said running through the implications. The arm didn’t get reset to his raw state—because it had been fully healed. He was sick again—because the medicine in his system had been actively counteracting the nausea. What all of _that_ meant, he had no idea. There was one thing he _did_ know. “We have to kill Naraku,” he said firmly.

“We know that,” Kagome said firmly.

“No, Kagome.” He looked at her. “Naraku raised the opal curtain. The only way to bring it down is if he takes it down—or if he dies.”

“And how do you propose we kill him?”

“Izuku,” said Inko worriedly, “what are you thinking.”

Izuku looked down at the bile staining the stone and thought about the baby.  _His_ baby. His  _alphas’_ baby. The baby that hasn’t been born yet. “I’m thinking about a weapon,” he said grimly.

“Izuku, with the opal curtain up it could kill the both of you,” Inko protested.

“Are you talking about that weapon you said your grandfather built?” asked Kagome. He nodded and she smiled grimly. “Let’s do it.”

“Izuku—Izuku, what about the baby?”

Izuku thought about it. “Mom,” he said, “if we fail—if he wins—” He looked at his mother, hoping she’d understand. “There won’t be a chance left,” he whispered.

“So, you know where this weapon is?” asked Kagome.

“I’ve only been there once…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the home stretch now, my lovely audience. Posting as fast as I can (with work and all). Hope everyone's still enjoying!


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sesshomaru prepares to take down the curtain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, real short chapter, but needed. Hope you enjoy.

“So, you want to kill your brother?” asked the annoying little girl. Sesshomaru glanced at her, sitting on a box, feet absently swinging. 

“He is not my brother,” growled Sesshomaru. “He is a living, breathing stain on the honor of the Demon Dog Clan.”

“Why?”

“His mother is a human.”

The little girl snorted. “So is the dragon king.”

“ _One day you will understand.”_

He pushed the voice back again. “Demon Dogs are not dragons.”

“Uh-huh.” There was a pause of blessed silence before the girl began speaking again. “So, does he live near you?”

_What?_ “No, the stain does not live near me,” growled Sesshomaru.

“Does he taunt you? Rob from the clan?” continued the little girl.

“No,” he said curtly. He hoped his tone would end the conversation.

It didn’t. “So he does nothing but exist. And you want to kill him for it. I understand.”

“Good.”

“You’re jealous.”

“What?” Sesshomaru whirled to glare at the small child who smirked back up at him, absolutely no fear or contrition.

“You’re jealous,” she repeated.

“And what, pray tell,” Sesshomaru demanded through grit teeth, “am I jealous about?”

“You’re jealous because your brother has someone he looks at the way that the two dragons look at the dragon king and _you_ don’t.” She nodded and jumped down. “Unfortunately, there is no medicine for jealousy. But it won’t go away,” she added, “just because you kill him.” She walked off whistling in a grating, off key manner.

“Yo, Sesshomaru,” the stain said walking up to him, flanked by the two dragons. “You ready?”

“ _You’re jealous_.” 

Sesshomaru pushed the little girl’s voice down. “I am,” he told the other three. 

“ _You’re jealous_.”

Unlike the voice of his father, the little girl’s wouldn't stay down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Rin is adorable, that's why.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku and Kagome decide on a plan of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really a long night at work--but a super buys, packed one. Only the one chapter this morning--but the climax is coming! And, after the climax, more fluff, because I said so.

Izuku led Kagome through the dungeons. In that much, Naraku had done them a favor.  The weapon was hidden in the catacombs beneath the dungeons; taking him and Kagome there had actually shortened their journey. Unlike the dungeons the catacombs were lit with an odd, glowing moss that had been living in them since before Toshinari was born—and presumably, before Kyou was as well. 

“Are you sure you’re not going to get us lost down here?” asked Kagome worriedly.

“No,” Izuku admitted, “but do you have a better idea?”

“Not really. I’m guessing Naraku got rid of all the bows and arrows before he snagged us.”

“Would a blessed arrow kill him?” asked Izuku as he took a corner. If he remembered correctly it was three right turns and then a left—or was that the other way around?

“It didn’t last time,” admitted Kagome, “but it should slow him down long enough to hit him with something else.” She shuddered and rubbed her hands against her upper arms. “It’s freezing down here,” she muttered.

Izuku hadn’t noticed. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was too focused on remembering the way to the hidden room, or if it was because he was pregnant with a dragon’s baby—dragons had a higher body temperature than humans. “I think we’re almost there,” he replied as they made a left turn—to a familiar carved wall.

“This is it?” she demanded.

“No,” Izuku said as he pushed the carvings _here_ , _here_ , and _there—_ and the door opened. “It’s a door,” he added as they stepped into the room.

The room was perfectly square, completely white, and the walls were smooth. The walls were also glowing, but they weren’t really looking at that. In the center of the room was  pedestal, also made of the odd white substance as the rest of the room. On the pedestal lay the weapon.

The weapon itself didn’t look like very much. It looked like a glove that flared out at the wrist, with padding on the back that aligned with the back of the arm. The mere fact that it  _didn’t_ look like much was why Toshinari had made it a point to take Izuku to see it, to explain how it worked—because no one wanted him to discover it by accident. 

“Is that it?” asked Kagome.

“Yeah,” Izuku said harshly. He picked the glove up and put it on. The first time he’d seen it, his hands had been far too small for it—but now they fit. He didn’t know if they fit because his grandfather had been more his size or if there was something about the glove that made it fit the person who needed it. Kyou had died long before Izuku was born, before Itsuki was born. He flexed his hand in it and it felt like he’d been _born_ to wield it.

Maybe he had. The two of them stepped out of the room.  He stopped and stared at the off-white glove on his hand. “Kagome,” he said quietly, “if I use this—there’s a good possibility that we’ll die. The power could easily return from hitting the inside of the opal curtain and wipe out absolutely everything inside the borders—including us.” He began to shake. “There’s also the possibility,” he said softly, “that it will cut right  _through_ the opal curtain—and everything on the other side.” He looked up at her. “Kagome,” he said, feeling like he was going to break, “we  _don’t know where our mates are_ .”

Kagome reached out and hugged him. He could feel the taller girl shaking and he didn’t know if it was from cold or from the same conflict he was feeling. It was one thing to say he’d be willing to die, to sacrifice himself and his unborn child to save the world from Naraku. It was quite another knowingly put Shouto and Katsuki in danger—in a danger that they’d never be able to see coming since the curtain was just too thick.

“Or,” Kagome said shakily after a moment, “there’s a chance that it will be _just enough_ power to kill Naraku and no more. It won’t hurt anything else.”

Izuku met her gaze. “Do you really believe that?” he asked.

She swallowed hard, still shaking. “Let’s pretend I do.” She released him and brushed herself off. “Let’s pretend we both do.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “Besides,” she said in a slightly firmer voice, “Inu-Yasha’s hard to kill. I bet your mates are, too.”

“I don’t think they’ve ever met anything that could try,” said Izuku.

“See? Hard to kill.” She leaned, hands on her knees, as she took a few more breaths. “Okay. Ok _ay_. We can do this. We’ll kill Naraku, go home with our mates, and have many cuddly babies.”

“Kagome…”

“Shut up!” snarled Kagome. “If I’m going to pretend, I’m going to pretend I’ll have more children than Sango does!”

Izuku, who had listened to Kagome complain about her jealousy towards her best friend, decided to stay silent. He was going to need everything he had to win the battle that was  before him with Naraku. He didn’t need to pick one with Kagome.

Before they left the catacomb, Izuku reached out with his non-gloved hand to stop Kagome. “Something’s wrong,” he said. He could feel—something. Something that hadn’t been there before they left.

“Soldiers,” said Kagome. He turned and saw that her eyes were glowing slightly in the dim light of the catacomb. “They have weapons,” she added. She looked at him for a moment and then gently pushed his arm aside. “Let me go first.”

K agome strode forwards and grabbed the first soldier by the back of the neck. Izuku wasn’t sure what she did then, but the entire soldier glowed pink for a moment before dissolving—like the flying monsters she’d shot with her arrows did. The only things that didn’t dissolve were the soldier’s clothes and weapons—one of which was a bow and and arrow quiver. Kagome yanked two arrows out of the quiver, whirled, and  _stabbed_ the other two soldiers with them. The soldiers and the arrows glowed pink—and dissolved. 

“Wow,” breathed Izuku, eyes wide.

“Don’t be too impressed,” she said. She calmly looted the remains of the other two dead soldiers for more arrows. “It only works against the Unclean. For anything else it has exactly the same effect as a normal arrow.” She grimaced as she swung the now full quiver over her arm. The quiver she preferred slung across the back, but that wasn’t how quivers in Midoriya were designed. They were designed to slide over the shoulder. “And against the kind of things that running with Inu-Yasha puts you against—well, arrows just piss most of them off.”

“It’s more than I can do,” Izuku protested as he led Kagome back towards the dungeons.

“There’s all kinds of power,” Kagome said vaguely. “Don’t underestimate what you have.”

They paused when they reached the part of the dungeon with Inko in it. In order to use the weapon on Naraku, they had to  _find_ Naraku. Given that the castle was almost entirely populated by the dead (or the “Unclean,” according to Kagome),  there was nothing they could use to pinpoint the monster.

Kagome looked at him, just as confused as he was. “What do we do now?” she asked.


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Checking in with Naraku.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. Lied about the last one before bed. Is anyone surprised at this point? However, really tired, please point out any errors you see. Also, really short, but it needs to be a chapter by itself. Sorry it's not longer.

Naraku smiled at their progress.  They didn’t know it—yet—but since he’d taken over the castle there was nothing in it that he didn’t know.  Well, almost nothing. He’d had no idea about the hidden room in the catacombs, for instance, but that wasn’t surprising. That room was built of the same stuff as the well that had spawned the girl.

He could also—through the few of his creatures that  _hadn’t_ been destroyed (mainly because they hadn’t been in the battle) keep a rough eye on the people outside the barrier. Even he wasn’t entirely certain  _what_ the barrier was—Kyou had taken those secrets to his grave.  Naraku remembered the man as he’d been in his youth—the  _first_ time Naraku had met him.  _Before_ the two of them were enemies.

The first time he’d seen Izuku, second prince of the Midoriya Kingdom—he’d been shocked. The boy, bright, energetic, always  _poking into things_ had almost been like Kyou reborn. Aside from the hair color (clearly inherited from his mother) the kid was the spitting image—right down to wanting to know  _how_ things worked.

Unlike Kyou, Izuku was never restricted in what he was allowed to learn. If he wanted to learn anything to do with healing, cooking, or even weapons, he was allowed. Kyou had only been allowed to learn whatever his father deemed useful for war.

S till, Kyou had enjoyed learning. His face was always animated, eyes always shining, excited blush on his cheeks—until he wasn’t. Until the world broke him.

Naraku sighed and let the memories fall away. He’d lived long enough to know that holding onto them helped absolutely nothing. He got up and looked at the blond, skeletal corpse in the corner of the room, still staring with vacant blue eyes. “Come along Toshinari,” he said. “Time to reunite with your son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this AU version of Naraku had an unrequited crush on Kyou. That was not an accident in writing--just liked it better than the thing he had with Kikyo in the anime. You know, for the purposes of this story.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the dungeon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, longer than last chapter, but still short. Home stretch guys, trying to make every word count so it reads like I want it to. Enjoy.

Izuku and Kagome didn’t have time to be confused for more than a moment before blackness swirled in the floor in front of them.  A shadow rose from the floor and both of them tensed, Kagome with an arrow on the string already. The shadow peeled away from the figure and revealed a skeletal form topped by a mass of blond hair.

Izuku swallowed. “Dad?” he asked. He remembered his dragons’ descriptions of what the man had looked like the last time they saw him—but nothing could have prepared him for seeing it.  His father had always been larger-than-life, large and strong and impossible to hurt.

Kagome shoved him to the side as the corpse attacked. “Not anymore!” she yelled.  She yelped as the corpse was suddenly  _right there_ and almost grabbed her throat. She dodged, but barely.

Toshinari had trained with the military when he was younger, and personally trained the squads that went out for secret missions that Izuku was sure he wasn’t supposed to know about. Kagome fought against things that bows and arrows would enrage—but she’d always been protected by Inu-Yasha. 

Kagome stumbled. Toshinari’s corpse went in for the kill. Izuku stepped between them, arms thrown wide to protect her. “Dad!” he yelled.

The corpse stumbled—and fell. It collapsed to the floor leaving Izuku and Kagome in slight shock, breathing heavily. “Power,” Kagome said as she got to her feet. She yelped and would have fallen again if Izuku hadn’t grabbed her. 

“Let me see that,” he ordered, every inch a doctor once again. He had her lean against the wall while he checked her already swelling ankle. “Do you have any cloth or something that I could use as a—” He was interrupted by the sound of cloth tearing and looked up to see her calmly ripping the bottom half of her shirt. 

When she saw the look on his face she shrugged. “Inu-Yasha’s hard on clothes. You get used to it.”

Izuku didn’t comment as he took the strip and wound it around the ankle to bind it. Kagome would find it painful to walk on—but they didn’t have much choice. He glanced behind him at the motionless corpse of his father and swallowed again. “Power, huh?” he asked bitterly.

Kagome sighed. “Izuku,  you have dragons that will literally do anything you tell them to do without question.”

Izuku frowned. “Shouto and Kacchan—”

“I’m not talking about them.” He looked up. “Eijiro. Mina. Fuyumi. Mitsuki. Enji,” she added, listing dragons they both knew. “Even dragons that just meet you will do what you tell them. It may not be the power to lift entire buildings, but it’s still power.” She smiled wearily. “There are all kinds of power,” she added.

“I’d rather have the _power_ to get out of here,” he grumbled. She nodded and gripped his shoulder as they hobbled away. He took a last look at the body of his father, lying on the ground like a discarded toy, before hobbling away.

Neither of them noticed when the corpse began to move.


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Outside the opal curtain...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but it didn't feel quite right making another kaleidoscope chapter. Trying to run through all of them and get them up ASAP. Promise the next fluff will be longer.

Katsuki paced, glaring at the shield  where Sesshomaru kept cutting it. He wasn’t sure what it meant to have a sword that  _healed_ , and he wasn’t sure if it was working. Sesshomaru said he could tell it was cutting  _something_ , but the shield didn’t look any different.

“Is it working?” asked Shouto. Unlike Katsuki’s restless pacing he stood, stock still, eyes narrowed, watching the place in the barrier where Sesshomaru was cutting with his sword.

“The opal curtain absorbed the power of two of the strongest dragons that have ever lived,” Mitsuki said behind them. “And, no matter what he tells you, Inu-Yasha is not a weakling himself.” She watched the two young dragons who were watching the barrier. She prayed to Thunder that they’d be able to get Izuku out alive. If they didn’t, those two would destroy the world—and she didn’t think there was anything that would be able to stop them. Even _she_ hadn’t known the full force of their power until they turned it on the barrier to get their mate out of it.

Shouto gave a low growl that made everyone present except for Katsuki, Inu-Yasha, and Sesshomaru flinch. Itsuki, standing next to Mitsuki, cleared his throat. “I’d like to take a moment to remind you,” he said shakily, “that if you destroy the world Izuku will have nowhere to live.”

Neither young dragon acknowledges they heard him. “Right,” Mitsuki said. She looked at Itsuki. “I have no idea if Sesshomaru really can bring that down—”

“I _will_ ,” snarled Sesshomaru.

“But when it goes I think we should let those three go first.” She was distracted by an odd howling yelp and turned to see—something--faintly glowing pink and dissolving.

The healer known as Kikyo stepped forwards, bow in hand and arrow at the ready as she scanned the woods around them for more of the things. “There is this,” she told them. “We may be unable to get in, but Naraku is just as unable to get out.” She grimaced, aimed, and killed another— _something—_ in the trees. “If he could,” she explained, “ we’d be dealing with worse.” She grabbed another arrow, aimed—and the thing she was aiming at fell to the ground, solidly encased in ice.

Mitsuki looked at Shouto, at the only dragon with ice powers on the field. He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t twitched. He’d just reached out to freeze the thing Kikyo was aiming at.

_Thunder_ , but she hoped Izuku was all right.


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Climax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So--battles aren't really my writing forte. Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions on how to make this better, please let me know. I may or may not use them, but always appreciate the input.

They paused in limping and half turned so Kagome could shoot another arrow. It missed.  They continued down the hall. They’d made it into the castle proper just in time to be swarmed by more of the dead.

Izuku managed to wrestle himself and Kagome into a crevice as several of the dead marched past them. Kagome sighed in relief. “That was too close,” she complained.

Was it? Izuku, trained by healers and doctors alike, frowned. “They’re not trying to kill us,” he said slowly. Kagome’s head whipped to stare at him. “They want to capture us alive.”

“For what?” asked Kagome. Her voice was a low scared whisper. As she’d reminded Izuku—she’d dealt with Naraku before. She’d seen him twist people until they were hating each other and ready to kill one another—not because he viewed them as enemies or threats, but because it was something he did for fun. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what he wanted with them alive.

“I don’t know.” Izuku bit his lip as he thought. He had a mental map of the entire castle, formed from years of playing in it and going places people didn’t expect a prince to go. “You’re not going to like this,” he told her.

She laughed bitterly, softly. “I don’t  _like_ any of this,” she told him.

“We need to get back down to the dungeons.”

“ _What?_ ”

“There are less dead there,” he explained. It seemed as though Naraku had brought the dead back—to continue to do what they’d done while alive. There were even dead people cooking in the kitchen which must mean that—whatever else Naraku was—he had to eat real food. Aside from mindlessly doing the same jobs they used to do, the dead seemed to have a need to attack any living they saw. 

The doctor’s part of Izuku whirled with questions. How did the walking dead work? They weren’t consuming food themselves and animation took energy.  Everything alive had to eat to function, why didn’t the dead? How were they communicating? They didn’t use words, expression, or body language, but they were engaging in coordinated attacks against him and Kagome. 

Izuku let the doctor’s part of his brain wonder these questions and try to work out their answers, because it was keeping the rest of him from dropping and screaming—which would be much worse for his health. He turned to look at Kagome. “How are you holding up?” he asked.

She grimaced. “These bows you Midoriya use  _suck_ ,” she complained.

He didn’t know whether to hope that they’d be able to take the time for her to get used to the bow, or to hope they wouldn’t need to. “Come on,” he said as they slipped out of the crevice. Carefully, keeping their bodies hidden, they  made their way back towards the dungeons.

He didn’t want to admit it, but there was also a small part of him that wanted to run to his mother, tell her everything that was wrong, and have her fix it. He knew she couldn't do any such thing, so he damped that feeling down as much as he could.  He also knew it wouldn't go away.

They made it back to the dungeons without incident and were about to head towards the catacombs where they could just take a moment to  _rest—_ when they heard it. The soft, neutral chuckle that warned them that Naraku was there. Right behind them was a  corpse— _Toshinari’s_ corpse.

Kagome looked between the two as if she couldn't figure out which was the more immediate threat. Izuku focused completely on Naraku. “Why are we here Naraku?” he asked. Taking them made no sense. The dead consumed nothing, needed nothing. Naraku could have put the opal curtain up any time he pleased and no one would have been able to get through—and without him and Kagome there, no one would have  _wanted_ to get through. No matter how much Itsuki would have ranted and raged—it would have been stalemate. The lines would have pulled back. Keep the barrier up long enough and the lines would have simply melted away.

No, Naraku needed them for something. He  _might_ have needed them in order to concentrate the enemies all in one location to make killing them easier—but if that was the case he would have acted already.  No, he needed them for something else.

Naraku chuckled. The sound was eerily pleasant,  _normal_ . “ What a bright young man,” he said calmly. Strings of shadow flung themselves at Izuku, who struggled at the bone-deep cold he felt when they touched him. “Careful,” Naraku added. Another shadow string appeared in front of Izuku—aimed at his stomach. Aimed at his  _child_ . He went perfectly still.  Naraku’s smile widened. “Good boy,” he said. He took a step forwards.

Inko, minus her hands, lurched at him and grabbed him around the throat with her arms. “Now Izuku!” she ordered. Naraku stumbled back, disoriented, and the shadowed threads disappeared.

His mother—his  _mother_ was in the way of the blast. She smiled a tender, loving smile. “It’s okay sweetheart,” she told him.

Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat, looked at Naraku—and pulled his gloved arm back with all his strength before swinging it forwards with all the power that he had inherited from his father. A beam of pure, dense light flowed out of the glove and it felt as though the thing was trying to eat his hand as it hit into Naraku—and Naraku stood. “Kagome!” She whirled and fired her arrow at Naraku.

She’d told him that the arrows only worked against the Unclean, and Naraku was most definitely that. The arrow pierced the light, joined with the light—but wasn’t enough. Tears pricked Izuku’s eyes as he dredged within himself for the last bit of power he needed, just a little bit more.

He remembered his mates. Shouto and Katsuki. Laughing, fighting,  _always there_ .  He remembered Katsuki being helped onto the landing field, his wing starting to  _melt_ . He glared at Naraku.

He would not let the monster win. “Again!” he ordered Kagome as he felt the glove trying to eat into him and fed himself into it. A second glowing arrow hurdled towards the first—

And the power broke through whatever Naraku was doing to hold it back. The power kept going. The last thing Izuku saw, before he fell, was the look on Naraku’s face.

A look of peaceful acceptance.


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a little bit short. Next one will be longer.

“Oh.” Kaede looked at Kikyo with her one good eye and saw that the young woman was glowing. The edges of her body began to peel away as luminescent petals. Kikyo looked at Kaede and, for the first time in far too long, actually _smiled_.

“Rest you well, Kikyo,” Kaede said gently as the petals scattered and vanished.

The barrier between the armies and Midoriya pulsed, shivered—and disappeared. As soon as it was down Inu-Yasha took off on all fours, running to the castle as fast as he could  with the two dragons close behind him. Sesshomaru took a moment and collapsed, leaning on his sword as sweat dripped down his face and the child healer Rin gave him something to eat and drink.

The others, dragons, humans, and others, stared at what was left of Midoriya. Most of the country was a level black scar on the land, nothing there, with only a pile of rubble where the castle used to be. By the time Sesshomaru straightened, the dragons and Inu-Yasha were at the rubble, hastily digging through it.

He set off at a slow pace, taking his time. It would do no good for him to get there before Inu-Yasha found his mate. He would collect his payment from the stain.

The two dragons worked together to heave a large stone slab up—and revealed a room. Inside it were the unconscious bodies that had been taken from the camp. They were breathing—barely—and Sesshomaru noted that they were not far from death. He raised his sword—and swung, bringing both humans back to full health as the sword cut death away from them.

Inu-Yasha dashed forward and grabbed Kagome, holding her to him as he drank in her smell. He heard the footstep of his brother and—even though he itched to scream, bite, and attack—relaxed. He had offered Sesshomaru the chance to kill him if he saved Kagome, and he had. Inu-Yasha held her close and waited for the final blow.

“We have no way to know if the barrier fell because of me, or because of something these two did,” Sesshomaru said calmly as he turned and walked away.

_Unpredictable bastard_ , thought Inu-Yasha wearily as he held Kagome.

She began to stir. “Wha—?” she asked thickly.

“Sh,” he soothed her, as gently as he could. “It’s okay. _You’re_ okay.”

A little ways away, sandwiched between Shouto and Katsuki, Izuku woke up himself.  His face crumpled and he reached up, grabbing the two of them close as he broke down sobbing. They held him, wings outstretched to cover him, and let him cry.

The land began to glow. Inu-Yasha looked around in alarm—but Kagome smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she told him as she looked at the small lights rising from the glowing ground around them. “They’re passing on.”

For a moment the five of them just watched as the glow slowly faded, leaving a faint dusting of green over the land. “You know,” said Izuku softly, “I think Naraku wanted to die.”

“That’s crazy,” said Kagome, not moving from within her mate’s arms.

“Well, think about it.” Izuku looked down at the weapon—still on his hand. Despite everything, it still looked the same. Innocuous. In a way, the glove was very much like Naraku himself—dangerous wrapped in a normal, almost innocent package. “Kagome couldn't kill him.”

“Not for a lack of effort,” growled Kagome.

Izuku ignored her, “And I’m the only one who can use this.” He hefted the hand with the weapon still on it. “It took both of us to kill him—and we were the only ones taken.”

Kagome snorted. “I don’t know what Naraku was planning to do,” she informed him tartly, “but it wasn’t die.”

Katsuki gently brushed hair out of his face. “You’re thinking too much,” he told his mate.

Shouto hugged him across the shoulders and said firmly, “It doesn’t matter now. The two of you are safe and he is gone.”

“Yeah.” Izuku let the complications that were Naraku and his reanimated dead fall away. “Let’s go home,” he said. 


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby is born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last chapter of the story. I hope everyone enjoyed it. If people start it after I've finished posting it, I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry about my screwy schedule not letting me make regular updates. And, as promised, all the fluff!

Katsuki watched, almost mesmerized, by the way the oddly shaped knife Izuku was holding gently scraped into the wood.  Shouto continued with the tale. “Thunder and Lightning looked on the land, fresh and green  and full of meat. And they were lonely, so they created the first dragons.”

Katsuki shifted slightly. Izuku was sitting on his lap as he carved—whatever it was he was carving. Katsuki gently rubbed a hand over his mate’s distended stomach.

“Dragons filled the world, but they didn’t get along. They fought and killed one another, and Thunder and Lightning cried out in pain.”

Katsuki went absolutely still when he felt the baby kick his hand. He’d known that Izuku was pregnant from the moment his scent first changed, but it didn’t occur to him that Izuku was growing  _another living creature_ until he felt it move for the first time. It was oddly terrifying.

“When they couldn't take it anymore, Thunder and Lightning called the dragons together. They told the dragons that they would have a king, and that there would be no more fighting.”

The baby kicked again and Katsuki frowned.  It was moving more than normal. Was it close to coming? No, Izuku would have said something.

“The dragons said they didn’t want a king. They enjoyed fighting with each other, so Thunder made the dragons a promise.”

Katsuki looked at the carving taking shape in Izuku’s hand. He wouldn't be too focused on that to notice he was in labor, would he? Or, maybe he was focused on the story. Katsuki couldn't see how—the story was hardly new—but Izuku was good at focusing on a task to the exclusion of all else.

“He promised the dragons would fight, and they would have enemies to fight, as long as they did not fight each other. So, Ryunoske, the first dragon king was created.”

Katsuki watched as the smooth outer curve that Izuku was working took shape. It looked vaguely like an egg, although Katsuki knew it wasn’t near done.  He wondered what his mate was making.

“Dragons met humans, and thought humans were the enemy they’d been promised. The two fought and clashed and killed on another.”

The baby shifted inside Izuku again and Katsuki pulled his hand away for a moment. Could he be making it restless? He wasn’t sure. 

“Then a human, a champion of the humans met the fiercest dragon warrior, and fell in love. The two of them had a single child together.”

Izuku shifted suddenly, and then relaxed again. Katsuki frowned; he’d been doing that more frequently lately. Was it something he needed to worry about?

“When the child grew she was stronger than the fiercest of the dragons and kinder than the kindest of the humans. She taught the dragons that there was good in humans, and taught humans the same about the dragons.”

Izuku shifted again and his hand clenched on the wood he was working with for a moment. He carefully set it down on the desk beside him as Katsuki’s hand kept rubbing his belly. He used his arms to grab the one that Katsuki was already using to keep him stable. 

Warm wetness suddenly drenched Katsuki’s leg and Izuku sighed as Kagome and Kaede made their way into the nest. “All right,” Kagome ordered. “Time for everyone to get out but the healers.”

Izuku winced. “Doctor, please Kagome.”

“Doctor healer,” Kagome said dismissively. “It’s all the same.” She sighed and looked at the two alphas as Izuku wrestled himself up off of Katsuki’s lap. “Out, both of you,” she ordered.

Shouto regarded her calmly from his two differently colored eyes. “We want to help.”

“You can’t,” Kagome said bluntly.

“Help with this the two of you already have,” Kaede said firmly as she started a tea brewing.

“The best thing you can do is leave before the pain gets bad,” Kagome told them as she shooed the two dragons out of the cave.

Outside Mitsuki was perched on a rock waving the skins the dragons used for barter. “All right, I’ve got five fluffy meat skins that say the child will look like the father.”

“Are you _betting_ on what the baby will look like?” asked a human passing by. She looked mildly mortified.

“Honored dragon tradition,” Shouto told the human as Mitsuki called for more bets. As a clan chief, she was responsible for distributing the winnings.

Katsuki simply landed beside his mother. “Did you get our bet?” he asked her.

Mitsuki snorted. “That it’ll take after all three of you? Katsuki, don’t be absurd. That’s not physically possible.”

Katsuki snorted right back. “It’s what Deku says will happen.”

“Means nothing,” Mitsuki said breezily.

Katsuki shot Shouto a grin. They hadn’t told the other dragons just how tune with his own body Izuku really was. Neither of them knew if the dragons really needed to know that. Katsuki fluttered over to where Shouto was perched. “Given the story you were telling, has Deku figured out that he’s the new dragon king yet?”

Shouto snorted himself. “I wouldn't care to bet on  _what_ Izuku knows,” he told the other dragon.

“So is this betting thing really typical of dragons?” asked Inu-Yasha as he leaned against the rock that Shouto was perched on. 

“Yeah, the dragons bet on everything,” Katsuki said.

Shouto chuckled himself. “You should see the size of the pool on whether its a baby or an egg. Mitsuki isn’t going to have to hunt for a  _year_ .”

“Huh,” said Inu-Yasha as he looked at the milling dragons. “Which did she bet on?” A loud, unearthly moan escaped from the cave above them, making them still. “Relax,” he told the two tense dragons. “This is normal for a human giving birth. Trust me,” he added firmly. “This is why you’re not supposed to be in here. Healers have been killed in the past by alphas trying to protect their mates from the natural pain.”

“So—it’s not killing him?” asked Katsuki.

Inu-Yasha’s ears twitched as he analyzed the sound. “No, too normal. Trust me,” he said hollowly thinking of the woman who had died in labor as Kagome tried, desperately, to help. “Death screams are much harsher.”

The dragons’ reactions are not what the half demon dog expected. Katsuki picks him up like a toy. “You make sure everything is okay!” he snarled before hurling Inu-Yasha into the cave.

Inu-Yasha didn’t have time to explain that it probably wasn’t a good idea for a strange alpha to be around while Izuku was giving birth. He landed and skid into the hardwood floor. For the first time he wondered how the wood was fit into the stone floor of the cave.

“As long as here you are, help you will,” said the firm voice of Kaede. She put Inu-Yasha to work fetching clean, soft skins (apparently dragons were _very_ good at tanning hides), and helping Izuku walk around the cave. Kagome and Kaede were making tea, under Izuku’s instruction.

Izuku crouched and let out another loud moan. “Coming it is now!” shouted Kaede.

Kagome assisted Inu-Yasha in helping him lean back, while staying on his feet. Sweat dripped from the  boy’s face as he pushed. There was another loud moan and Kaede caught the baby as it fell. She flipped it over and began thumping the bottoms of the baby’s taloned feet. “Not done yet, you are,” she told Izuku.

“One more push for the afterbirth,” Kagome explained.

Izuku gasped for breath, his whole body stiffened—and a glistening red blob fell to the floor as the first cries of the baby echoed through the cave. Inu-Yasha helped Izuku recline onto a pile of furs and skins (it seemed as though every dragon had brought him at least twenty in the last two weeks) and Kagome helped him guide the baby into fastening onto the nipple for feeding while Kaede helped him clean up down there.

The baby had the oddly pale skin of Izuku and Katsuki, bright pink hair, one red horn and one white horn, and looked simultaneously too small to be alive and too big to have just come out of a human. Inu-Yasha was used to that last bit though, as he’d helped with a couple of Sang’s births. 

“Well you did,” Kaede said as she gathered up the red, glistening blob. It looked slightly menacing.

“It looks like both Katsuki and Shouto,” Inu-Yasha breathed as he looked at the little thing.

It released Izuku, yawned (with milk still dribbling from its mouth) and cracked open sleepy eyes. Eyes that were, Inu-Yasha couldn't help but notice, dark green like its mother's. “Oh,” cooed Kagome. “What a beautiful baby girl!”

Kaede nudged Inu-Yasha. “Go you now to tell the fathers safe it is for them to return,” she ordered. 

As Inu-Yasha scurried to the edge he decided he knew the best way to tell them. He leaned out and called, “It’s a baby girl!” The baby sneezed and a bolt of lightning shot out of the cave. “And it takes after all three of them,” he added.

Kagome and Kaede left the cave with him as the two dragons—now fathers—shot into the cave see their mate and the others either groaned or cheered depending on how they’d bet. When they were out of the cave Kaede hobbled off to dispose of whatever the red, glistening thing was leaving Inu-Yasha alone with Kagome. They watched the celebration for a moment. Even the humans seemed to be celebrating the birth of the half-dragon baby.

“You know Kagome,” said Inu-Yasha after a while, “I’ve been thinking.”

“What about?” asked Kagome, curiously.

He scuffed his bare feet against the ground. “About children. Now, the thought of you being pregnant still scares the hell out of me—but there are a lot of orphans. How do you feel about, maybe, raising some of them?” He barely had time to catch himself as Kagome flung herself into his arms and began kissing him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been thinking about my next fic. I'm thinking--Spideypool. ('Cause I'm weird.)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcome. I have no beta readers, which makes everyone reading this a guinea pig. :)


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